World Badminton Championships Highlights, quarter-finals: PV Sindhu beats Tai Tzu Ying; B Sai Praneeth ensures medal

In the semifinal

B Sai Praneeth vs Kento Momota (The Japanese player had earlier beaten HS Prannoy)

PV Sindhu vs Blichfeldt/Chen Yu Fei

Bringing you up to speed with key achievements by both Sindhu and Sai Praneeth:

– PV Sindhu with just her second win in eight matches against Tai Tzu Ying

– Sindhu assuring herself of a third medal in a row at the World Championships and fifth overall.

– B Sai Praneeth becomes second Indian since Prakash Padukone to reach last-four of Worlds

Two medals for India in the same edition will happen just for the second time. 

#BWFWorldChampionships
With Sai Praneeth and Sindhu reaching the semi-finals, this will be the second time that India will have two medallist from the same edition. Saina and Sindhu had achieved that feat in 2017. India's medals tally now stands at 10 with Sindhu bagging 50%

— Abhijeet Kulkarni (@abk6580) August 23, 2019

B Sai Praneeth with historic feat

What a feat for B Sai Praneeth! He becomes only the second Indian men’s singles shuttler after Prakash Padukone in 1983 to win a World Championship medal! What medal will it be in the end remains to be seen.

B Sai Praneeth registers a historic win! 

Praneeth has ended India’s 36-year wait for a men’s singles medal at the World Championships with a 24-22, 21-14 win over Jonatan Christie. He was outstanding from the word go and didn’t look back despite losing focus midway in the second game. A great feat after owing the last two years to injuries and indifferent form.

Praneeth 19-14 Christie

The Indian takes consecutive points as he looks to close the contest quickly.

Praneeth 15-11 Christie

The Indonesian is trying his best to crawl back into the match. Praneeth is looking a bit tired as he gifts another point to his opponent.

Praneeth is surging ahead! 

Praneeth leads 11-3 at the mid-game break!

Christie's body language isn't looking great right now

Meanwhile, Praneeth's disciplined gameplay is bearing fruit #BWC2019 #BWFWC2019
LIVE: https://t.co/HKUTGAvXme

— Firstpost Sports (@FirstpostSports) August 23, 2019

Praneeth 8-2 Christie

We’re looking at two contrasting displays at the moment. Praneeth has been calm and composed, while Christie is rushing at the net. Way too many errors.

Praneeth 4-1 Christie

The Indian has played some classy forehand drives to take the lead. He’s 6-1 up now. Christie lacks patience while playing rallies.

Sai Praneeth wins first game 24-22! 

Both Praneeth and Christie had their chances but the Indian shuttler’s superb mix of shots made the difference in the end. He’s played quite a few wristy strokes to take his opponent by surprise.

Praneeth 22-22 Christie

A 32-shot rally goes in the Indonesian shuttler’s favour. Praneeth should have closed it right there.

Praneeth 20-20 Christie

Oh, well. The Indian squanders a gamepoint and allows Christie to make it 21-20. A couple of errors at the net have let Praneeth down here.

Praneeth 19-17 Christie

Unfazed by the Indonesian crowd support for Christie, Praneeth is making his opponent work hard to find angles.

Praneeth 17-16 Christie

Some nervy shots by Christie there. Praneeth is not going to miss those. It’s a tight game, to say the least. Both players have the potential to turn it around in their favour.

Praneeth 15-14 Christie

Christie punishes Praneeth with back-to-back smashes and takes the lead. The Indonesian crowd support is massive in the Basel arena.

Praneeth 14-12 Christie

The Indian has played a mix of good attacking strokes to halt Christie’s movement. It’s a technique that has worked out well for the Hyderabad-born shuttler.

Praneeth looks pretty proactive from the mid-court

.@saiprneeth92 goes into the mid-game break with an 11-10 lead over Jonatan Christie of Indonesia#BWC2019 #BWFWC2019
LIVE: https://t.co/HKUTGAvXme pic.twitter.com/RRNovB4Rm4

— Firstpost Sports (@FirstpostSports) August 23, 2019

On to the next one:

B Sai Praneeth is in action against Jonatan Christie of Indonesia. The Indian takes a 9-6 lead in the opening game. We’ve already witnessed a humdinger of a match. Let’s see how this one unfolds.

PV Sindhu pulls off the unthinkable! 

The Indian ace shuts down Tai Tzu Ying 12-21, 23-21, 21-19 to enter the semi-finals and thus confirms a medal for India at the World Championships once again. After a disastrous opening game, Sindhu scripted a great comeback to tame the former World No 1.

Tai Tzu 19-19 Sindhu

Nerves playing a part, understandably. Sindhu rushes at the net twice as Tai levels the score in the third game.

Tai Tzu 17-19 Sindhu

And just in the nick of time, Sindhu bags quick points to take a two-point advantage. This is a great comeback after the first game.

Tai Tzu 17-17 Sindhu

Just when Tai looked set to wrap this match, Sindhu roars back with her attacking prowess. Huge points for Sindhu.

Tai Tzu 14-14 Sindhu

Told you, it’s all square now. Sindhu has played a barrage of half and full smashes. This time, Tai couldn’t read the body smash coming from the other side.

Tai Tzu 13-10 Sindhu

Tai has successfully maintained the lead over Sindhu, who has tried every stroke from the textbook to gain the advantage. It is still a tight contest.

It’s not over yet, Tai

Great defensive show from Tai Tzu. The Taiwanese leads 11-9 at the mid-game break

Tai has retrieved most of the shots coming from the other side of the net#BWC2019 #BWFWC2019
LIVE: https://t.co/HKUTGAvXme

— Firstpost Sports (@FirstpostSports) August 23, 2019

Tai Tzu 9-6 Sindhu

There is only so much Sindhu can do. Tai has figured a way to combat Sindhu’s attacking moves from the mid-court. The Indian has been under pressure for the majority of the match.

Tai Tzu 7-3 Sindhu

Tai has been brilliant throughout. Great accuracy too. Another rally and another point earned smartly by the former World No 1

Tai Tzu 5-2 Sindhu 

The Taiwanese hardly plays any lose shots. It looks like Sindhu is being pushed towards the backcourt so that Tai can find an angle for a winner.

Tai Tzu 3-1 Sindhu

A good start for Tai Tzu, but Sindhu has got to put a stop somewhere. Once Tai starts coasting, she doesn’t look back. Sindhu, interestingly, knows about it.

PV Sindhu forces a decider! 

The Indian ace edges past Tai 23-21 in the second game. Unlike her first game, Sindhu’s smashes were more powerful. Tai was also beaten at the net on multiple occasions.

Tai Tzu 20-20 Sindhu

Deadlock in this tight, nail-biting second game. Sindhu’s push-clear lands wide. She looks back at Pullela Gopichand and feels dejected as she has no challenges left.

Tai Tzu 19-18 Sindhu

This is getting interesting now. The fans must have surely liked how this match has unfolded. Sindhu with a slender lead.

Tai Tzu 16-17 Sindhu

What a smash from Sindhu! Tai had no chance whatsoever. The Indian finally has the control of the rallies.

Meanwhile on the adjacent court, Japanese ace Nozomi Okuhara takes the first game against He Bingjiao. Easy run for the former world champion.

Tai Tzu 13-15 Sindhu

Quality strokes from Sindhu there. She takes a two-point lead over Tai with a mix of forehand and backhand strokes. Sindhu will need more of these to send this match into the deciding game.

Tai Tzu 13-13 Sindhu

Great control by Tai Tzu at the net. Sindhu was trying to unsettle the Taiwanese with delicate drop shots. Tai reads the move and levels the score.

Sindhu roars back! 

11-10! Sindhu does enough to keep Tai Tzu at bay as we enter the mid-game interval

Sindhu has looked better defensively and has taken advantage of her range #BWC2019 #BWFWC2019
LIVE: https://t.co/HKUTGAvXme

— Firstpost Sports (@FirstpostSports) August 23, 2019

Tai Tzu 8-9 Sindhu

A handful of consecutive points for Sindhu. She’s looking desperate to bag quick points before the mid-game break.

Tai Tzu 6-4 Sindhu

And yet again, the Indian allows Tai to move freely and take the lead. Sindhu’s defensive approach is a gift to Tai. The Taiwanese is extremely sharp from all four corners.

Tai Tzu 3-3 Sindhu 

Much better play by Sindhu. She has been able to remain sharp after a horrible first game. Tai, however, is still applying pressure from the forecourt.

Tai takes first game: 21-12

The former World No 1’s dominance is a treat to watch. Tai has taken complete control of the shuttle and has made Sindhu work harder on the net. The Indian ace hasn’t been able to play her natural game due to the pressure coming from the other half of the net.

Tai Tzu 19-10 Sindhu

The Taiwanese has been on the front foot since the start of the game. It takes a lot of speed and control of the shuttle to maintain the lead.

Tai Tzu 17-9 Sindhu 

Sindhu hasn’t created the space for hitting those down-the-line attacking drives. Instead, Tai has kept her at bay. One-way traffic at the moment.

Tai Tzu 12-7 Sindhu 

The Indian bags two quick points to close the gap but she’ll need more of her attacking strokes on the tramlines to stand a chance against Tai.

Tai Tzu with a point to prove

A blistering start for Tai Tzu

The World No 2 takes an 11-4 lead over Sindhu at the mid-game interval of the first game #BWC2019 #BWFWC2019
LIVE: https://t.co/HKUTGAvXme

— Firstpost Sports (@FirstpostSports) August 23, 2019

Tai Tzu 8-3 Sindhu

The World No 2 is making life difficult for Sindhu with her wrist wizardry. The defensive strokes by Sindhu haven’t been accurate too.

Tai Tzu 5-2 Sindhu

The Indian will have to focus on retrieving skills to trouble Tai early on in the game. The Taiwanese seems relaxed after a good start.

Time for PV Sindhu vs Tai Tzu Ying

A repeat of the World Tour Finals final. Will Tai avenge her defeat? It’ll be interesting to see how she responds after a series of disappointing results in the second half of the season. 

Meanwhile, three-time World Championships medalist Sindhu has added a few strokes to her arsenal. The maturity shown during the Indonesia Open and other BWF events was lauded by many. Barring last year’s World Tour Finals, she has struggled against the Taiwanese. Let’s see if she can manage to topple the top dog again. 

Tai leads the head-to-head meetings between the two by a huge 10-4 margin.

Momota beats Lee: 21-12, 21-8 

That’s an emphatic victory for the World No 1 as he mercilessly trounced Lee Jii Zia in straight games. Momota is through to the last four.

Let’s quickly look at the first men’s singles match of the day.

Defending champion Kento Momota is looking in great touch as he takes the first game 21-12 against Lee Jii Zia of Malaysia. It was neck-and-neck till the mid-game break, but Momota took matters on his own hands to wrap the opening game in a jiffy.

Hello and welcome to Firstpost’s live coverage of the World Badminton Championships 2019. It’s the quarter-finals day of the mega event in Basel. India’s B Sai Praneeth and PV Sindhu will be in action today. So, stay tuned for all the live updates.