India's B Sai Praneeth defeated Indonesia's Jonatan Christie 17-21, 21-18, 21-19 in the final of the Thailand Open in Bangkok on Sunday in a see-sawing contest that lasted one hour and 11 minutes.
With this win, Praneeth became the second Indian man after Kidambi Srikanth to win a Superseries and a Grand Prix Gold event. Srikanth is also the only other Indian to win the men's singles event at the Thailand Open. He won in 2013.
19-year-old Christie got off to an explosive start and won the first three points of the match before Praneeth got on the scoreboard. Praneeth leveled scores at 5-5 after Christie floated a shot long from the back of the court. The Indonesian controlled the flow of play in the first game but made a few unforced errors as well, leading 11-9 at the changeover.
Christie used his superior mobility to his advantage to open up a three-point lead at 13-10. Praneeth stayed close on his heels though, and a delightful backhand drop followed by a down-the-line smash showed his wide array of strokes. Praneeth edged ahead at 16-14 after the longest rally of the first game.
World no. 24 Praneeth, ranked three spots above the Indonesian in the world rankings, struggled to match Christie's swiftness and tried to compensate by smarter placement. Christie won the first game after converting his first game point with a crosscourt smash.
Praneeth opened up a 5-0 lead at the beginning of the second game after making an effort to be more aggressive. Christie then won 11 of the next 16 points to lead 11-10 at the changeover as Praneeth grew increasingly impatient. Praneeth continued to test Christie with delicate net play but Christie's swift movement and court coverage helped him to keep the lead in check.
Christie's ability to come up with winners from the back of the court tested Praneeth, but a couple of netted smashes and a short lift by the former helped Praneeth win the second game in 23 minutes.
The errors piled up for Praneeth at the beginning of the third game as Christie raced to a 7-2 lead with his aggressive play. The third game followed a similar pattern to the second as Christie led 11-10 at the changeover.
Christie's inexperience showed at crucial moments in the third game as he netted a couple of smashes and hit a couple long when he had a chance to open up leads. A missed smash at 19-19 gave Praneeth his first match point, which he converted with a body smash.
Praneeth had also emerged victorious at the Singapore Open in April, which was the last tournament he participated in. He had won his maiden Grand Prix title at the Canada Open last year.
Praneeth will next take part in the Indonesia Open, where he will take on world no. 2 Son Wan Ho in the first round.