Sports News | Praneeth Loses Opening Match on Olympic Debut

Tokyo, Jul 24 (PTI) India's B Sai Praneeth suffered a demoralising straight-game defeat against lower-ranked Misha Zilberman from Israel in Group D men's singles, making a disappointing start to his maiden Olympic campaign here on Saturday.

Praneeth, a 2019 World Championship bronze medallist and now ranked 15th, was too erratic as he lost 17-21 15-21 to world number 47 Zilberman in a 41-minute match.

The 13th seeded Indian will next face world number 29 Mark Caljouw of the Netherlands.

In the opening game, Praneeth raced to a 8-4 lead early on but soon Zilberman reeled off five straight points to turn the table as the Indian committed a series of unforced errors.

The Indian entered the break with a one-point advantage after Zilberman made an error.

Praneeth lacked in his execution, which allowed Zilberman to lead 15-13. The Israeli shuttler dominated the proceedings next to zoom to a 19-14 as the Indian miscued a few shots.

A cross court smash helped Zilberman to grab six game points and he sealed it on fourth attempt.

A fired-up Zilberman continued to look good with Praneeth sending the first two shuttles long. The Israeli soon led 8-5.

Zilberman continued to dictate terms in the rallies as Praneeth lagged 7-11 at the interval.

Praneeth couldn't match the pace of his opponent, who seemed to be playing at a different level.

Zilberman eventually grabbed 8 match points after Praneeth went long again and sealed the opening match with a smash. PTI

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)