Orleans Masters Badminton Highlights: Praneeth loses to Popov: Top seed Sai Praneeth crashed out in the third round of the Orleans Masters after a 12-21, 11-21 defeat against France’ss Christo Popov on 31st March,Thursday. The 20-year old Popov dominated throughout the match challenging the Indian with smashes and drop shots. The Indian couldn’t even come close in the game as he faced a humiliating defeat. Follow InsideSport.IN for more updates.
Orleans Masters Badminton Highlights: Sai Praneeth suffers shock defeat against Christo Popov in third round of Orleans Masters – Praneeth vs Popov Highlights
Sai Praneeth [IND] vs Christo Popov [FRA]
Sai Praneeth struggled against France’s 20-year old Christo Popov in the third round of the Orleans Masters Super 100 tournament on Thursday. Sai Praneeth was put to test by the 20-year old and the Indian couldn’t even give a tough fight as he lost the first set 12-21.In the second set, Popv continued his dominance as Sai Praneeth couldn’t even come closer and in the end lost the set 11-21 to bow out of the tournament.
- 11-21 Popov defeats Sai Praneeth with a brilliant smash.
- 11-20 Sai Praneeth squanders a shot in the net as as Popov gets nine match points.
- 7-11 Popov plays a brilliant drop shot as he enters the break with a four-point lead.
- 4-7 Popov however makes comeback and takes a three-point lead with a brilliant smash
- 4-4 Sai Praneeth shows good fight as both the players go neck-to-neck
Game 2
- 12-21 Popov seals the set with a brilliant smash.
- 12-19 Popov hits a brilliant smash to take a massive seven-point lead.
- 5-11 Srikanth hits wide, as Popov enters the break with a six point lead.
- 4-7 Christo Popov leads 7-4
Game 1
- Sai Praneeth is currently ranked 19th in Men’s singles while Christo Popov is at 60th spot. The 20-year old French player is however having a good year and looking to improve in the rankings.
- Sai Praneeth suffered a bout of Covid at the start of the year and missed the Indian Open and the Syed Modi International.
- He returned for All England Open and suffered first round exit against World No.1 Viktor Axelsen.
- He also made a first round exit in Swiss Open after losing to compatriot HS Prannoy.
- Sai Praneeth registered his first victory of the season against Jan Louda in the previous encounter at the Orleans Masters, after receiving a first-round bye.
- Meanwhile, Popov started the year by winning the Ukraine Open. He then reached the second round in the German Open, where he lost to World No.1 Viktor Axelsen. He made it to the quarterfinals in the 2022 Swiss Open and went down fighting against eventual champion Jonatan Christie in three sets.
- At the Orleans Masters, he defeated qualifier Yeoh Seng Zoe in three sets to advance to the second round.
Both the players have met once last year during the Indonesian Open, with Sai Praneeth winning the contest 21-17 14-21 21-19. The Indian, who is the top-seed once again will be the favourite.
Other Fixtures
Men’s Singles Third Round
Sai Praneeth [IND] loses to Christo Popov [FRA] 12-21, 11-21
Kiran George [IND] lost to Christian Adinatha [INS] 16-21, 9-21
Meiraba Maisnam [IND] lost to Chan Yin Chak [HNG] 12-21, 21-15, 19-21
Mithun Manjunath [IND] beat Hans-Kristian Vittinghus [DEN] 16-21, 21-10, 21-11
Women’s Singles Second Round
Ira Sharma [IND] lost to Chen Hsuan-yu [AUS] 11-21, 17-21
Anupama Upadhyaya [IND] beat Lenice Huet [FRA] 21-17, 21-16
Men’s Doubles Second Round
Ravikrishna-Udayakumar [IND] beat Chiu-Yuan [US] 21-15, 21-15
Women’s Doubles Second Round
Bhat-Gautam [IND] beat Vallet-Vercelot [FRA] 21-12, 28-26
Mixed Doubles Second Round
Bhatnagar-Crasto [IND] vs der Lecq-Jille [NET] 21-18, 22-20
Where to watch Orleans Masters LIVE?
The tournament is being telecasted live on French Badminton Federation’s official Youtube Chennel Federation Francaise Badminton.
Orleans Masters Badminton Highlights: Sai Praneeth suffers shock defeat against Christo Popov in third round of Orleans Masters – Praneeth vs Popov Highlights
Editors pick
