Tokyo Olympics: B Sai Praneeth loses final group stage game, out of pre-quarters contention

Indian badminton, too, has had a mixed outing in the Tokyo Olympics 2020. B Sai Praneeth lost his final group stage game to Netherlands' Mark Caljouw, losing in straight sets (14-21, 14-21), thus bowing out of pre-quarters contention.

Indian badminton produced another heart-breaking result, as top men's star B Sai Praneeth lost his final group stage men's singles match in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday. Playing against Netherlands' Mark Caljouw, he lost in straight sets (14-21, 14-21), while he bowed out of contention for the pre-quarters as a result.

Praneeth suffered his second loss of the event, while Caljouw topped the group with this win. Only the table-toppers manage to qualify for the pre-quarters in this event.

As a result, top female shuttler PV Sindhu remains the only Indian in the competition's sport. She qualified for the pre-quarters on Wednesday after winning her second group stage game against NY Cheung of Hong Kong in straight sets (21-9, 21-16) in a 35-minute match.

"I found my rhythm from the second game on, and I finished it off. It was a fast game, and I made a couple of unforced errors. I changed my tactics and got things under control. This type of test is important before a big match," she said after the match, reports PTI.

Sindhu would now take on Denmark's Mia Blichfeldt in the pre-quarters on Thursday. The Indian has a 4-1 lead over the world number 12 but feels it won't be an easy match.

"It's not going to be an easy game. I need to recover well and come back stronger. I've played her a couple of times; every point is going to be important. She's an aggressive player, so I need to be aggressive as well," she concluded.

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