Praneeth reaches quarterfinals of Thailand Open

Indian shuttler B Sai Praneeth advanced to the quarterfinals of the USD 120000 Thailand Grand Prix Gold after notching up a straight-game win over Malaysia's Iskandar Zulkarnain, here today.
Singapore Open champion, Praneeth didn't break much sweat in getting across ninth seed Zulkarnain 21-13 21-18.
The third seeded Indian will now face Thailand's Kantaphon Wangcharoen tomorrow.
However, it was curtains for Sourabh Verma and Sai Uttejitha Rao Chukka in men's and women's singles competition.
While 12th seeded Sourabh fought hard before going down narrowly 16-21 25-23 11-21 to fifth seeded Brice Leverdez of France, Sai Uttejitha Rao lost 15-21 17-21 to Pattarasuda Chaiwan of Thailand.

Praneeth, who had beaten Zulkarnain during their only meeting, opened up a 5-1 lead early on and then marched ahead despite some tough fight from the Malaysian. Eventually, he sealed the first game comfortable.
In the second game, Zulkarnain had taken a 9-7 lead but Praneeth erased the deficit and marched ahead to close the door on the Malaysian in the 41-minute clash.