There will be an Indian winner at the Singapore Open Super Series on Sunday.
This, by itself, isn't extraordinary.
Indians have claimed Superseries titles -- the biggest events of the international badminton calendar in the past. Singapore, though, will be unprecedented. In all those previous occasions, the Indian -- Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth -- had to beat an opponent from another country in the final.
In the men's singles final at the Singapore Open, however, it will be two Indians -- Kidambi Srikanth and B Sai Praneeth -- who will stand on opposite sides of the net. Until Sunday, only three other countries - China, Indonesia and Denmark had been represented on both sides of the court.
This is unfamiliar territory.
Particularly so for Praneeth, who will be competing in his first Superseries final. It is a debut that has been long overdue for the 24-year old. Srikanth, in contrast, has a fair bit of experience having played in two finals and winning both -- the 2015 India Open and 2014 China Open -- before this one. However, the last of those came more than a year ago, after which an ankle injury relegated him to the sidelines for a few months. His ranking, which was in the top five then, slipped to the high twenties. This is a lean spell he will be eager to end the same, even if it comes at the expense of a compatriot.
When you first say it, Srikanth versus Praneeth seems rather unwieldy. It doesn't have the alliterative elegance of Sindhu versus Saina. While the women's game has been the most feted in India, the odds were on the first all-Indian final featuring two men's singles players - five of whom feature in the top 30.
Amongst them, it was perhaps most appropriate that the match is being played between these two. If Srikanth is the most successful men's singles player in recent times, Praneeth was the one whose talent was never in question. Olympic quarterfinalist and Commonwealth medalist Parupalli Kashyap has seen both players from up close at the Gopichand Academy, where they all train. "I've known them from the time they could even hold a racquet," says Kashyap.
Srikanth's game is built on simple elements working in harmony. "His game is about speed and consistency. He can rally and he is waiting for that opportunity to smash. He has a great smash and he finds the lines. Because he is so quick, he can rush to the net. He has played doubles earlier in his career so he has a very good parallel game as well," says Kashyap.
It is an arguably limited style of play, but one that is successful internationally, and no one does it nearly as well as Srikanth. Praneeth, though, is a player's player. "I've said this many times before. Sai is perhaps one the most skillful players in badminton today. I wish I had half as many strokes as he had. He has such supple wrists that he can change his shots at the last moment. His game is all wrist. When he gets going and starts playing his crosscourt shots, you can't match his half smashes or at the net. Compared to Srikanth or any one else, he is far more skillful," says Kashyap.
However, Praneeth's skill is also his weakness. "His problem has been that he has so many options of strokes to play that he gets confused," says Kashyap.
Kashyap reckons that unlike Srikanth, Praneeth has lacked balance in his game. "Badminton isn't a sport where its just your fitness or your skill. It's about finding a balance in your game. Sai has taken his time in finding that balance," he says.
Over the last few weeks, Praneeth seems as if he has come close to finding it. His fitness -- which, along with a seeming lack of mental fortitude, was long considered a weakness -- has improved remarkably. As his straight games blowout in the semis showed, he has suffered little worse for the wear despite playing three straight hour long matches.
In the final, it would appear as if Praneeth has the edge. In the five previous competitive matches between the two, Praneeth leads 4-1, including a win at the most recent encounter in the semifinals of the Syed Modi. He is modest about his seeming dominance though. "I'm not going to say I am a better player, but perhaps my style of play doesn't suit Srikanth," says Praneeth.
And while he is glad to be making the record books, Praneeth partly wishes he wasn't playing Kidambi Srikanth in the final of the event. The feeling is likely reciprocated. Just to make things clear, there isn't any bad blood between the two. "Before the semifinals, I was expecting Srikanth to make the finals. I was only fifty-fifty about my own chances," says Praneeth. It's just that, as Praneeth goes on to explain, "No Indian likes to play another Indian in a tournament." "We play each other all time in practice so there is nothing of each other's game that we don't know."
Kashyap agrees with this assessment. "If you think about it, Srikanth should be the favourite because he has the better results and more experience. But when you play against a teammate, none of this matters. On paper, they are very different players. It should be exciting, but I'm guessing it will end up being an ugly match," says Kashyap.
"It's always harder to play your teammates. They have probably played each other hundreds of times over the years. You don't want to play your signature strokes because you know that your opponent can read what you're trying to do. So if you play a stroke, you know that it will be picked. It becomes boring for you as a player too because your favourite shots aren't winning you any points," says Kashyap.
What makes things harder will be the fact that the Singapore Indoor stadium is notoriously draughty. "If you start making mistakes, it can become impossible to control the shuttle. Before you know it, you will start losing the match. I'm guessing both Srikanth and Praneeth will look to play cautious and practical, and make as few mistakes as possible," he says.
This might not make for good viewing, but Kashyap says it is a price Indian fans should be willing to pay. "As long as an Indian is winning a tournament, it is probably worth it."