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Praneeth vs Srikanth: Too close to call

Mondays and Wednesdays are game days in Gachibowli. Over the decade, B Sai Praneeth and Kidambi Srikanth -- the former was one of Pullela Gopichand's earliest pupils and the latter joined the academy in 2009 -- have probably played each other hundreds of times. And now they are making a habit out of playing each other in international competition too.

Growing rivalry

Their clash in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open Superseries will be the seventh time the two 24-year-olds have found each other on the opposite side of the court. Among active Indian players, no two -- men or women -- have played each other as many times internationally. The rivalry hasn't been a uniform one. Their first three matches were played in 2012 and another encounter was in 2014. Both players were finding their feet in international circuit then and the clashes came during the qualifying stages of the main draw (2012 India Open Superseries) or during International Challenges -- the lowest rung of the badminton calendar. Between 2012 and 2017 though, the two played each other only once -- in the 2014 Syed Modi International GP Gold. That match, the only encounter one won by Srikanth, came at the start of what would be his breakout year. Srikanth would win the China Open title that year and add the India Open Superseries crown the next year. As Praneeth struggled for consistency, he was relegated to advancing through qualifying and the opportunities to play his sparring partner dried up. This year though, with momentum gained from a new training regime and coach, and a renewed focus on fitness, Praneeth has found his feet and the rivalry has resumed this time in the Superseries.

Edge with Praneeth

Theirs is conflict in which statistics would suggest the edge is held by Praneeth. The two have already played each other twice this year with Praneeth winning both encounters to advance to a 5-1 career record against Srikanth. However, both of this year's matches went to three games, with Praneeth having to win the last two. There is little separating them in the way of form either. If Praneeth won his maiden career Superseries in Singapore a month ago and then added the Thailand Open, Srikanth is just coming off a win in the Indonesia Open -- his first Superseries title in two years. Srikanth is indeed in red-hot form, having beaten world No. 1 Son Wan Ho twice in as many matches. Praneeth, on the other hand, lost to Son just a match before he was avenged by his compatriot.

Game of contrasts

At first glance, the two's styles seem to be designed to produce a great game of badminton. On one side of the court is the deceptively simple game of Srikanth. A giant smash is followed up by the fleetest of movements to the middle of the court ready to pounce on the tiniest error on the lift. Srikanth's speed is what makes his game. He attacks relentlessly, winning more points than he loses, rarely allowing the rally to extend itself. Of course over the past few months, Srikanth has proved he knows more than a few tricks. He's showed himself willing to duel it out in longer rallies and now worries about niceties like placement when smashing. Praneeth, meanwhile, has those famous Hyderabadi wrists. Once he gets his cross-court game going, it becomes near impossible to match him either on the half-smash or at the net.

Little surprise factor

None of this though will likely matter in their match on Friday morning. Praneeth has made it clear in the past how much he dislikes playing against this particular compatriot. "No Indian likes to play another Indian in a tournament," he has said. "We play each other all time in practice, so there is nothing of each other's game that we don't know." Indeed that is how their senior, Parupalli Kashyap, analyses their encounter will play out. "If you think about it, Srikanth should be the favourite because he has the better results and more experience," he says. "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," Kashyap had said before the last time the two played, in Singapore.

Earlier than preferred

The last time the two played, coach Gopichand said he had no favourites because an Indian was guaranteed to win the title. This time around though, the clash will occur in the quarterfinal stage. While Praneeth's game has proved to be a difficult puzzle for Srikanth to unravel, it remains to be seen how he is able to take that form forward against some the higher-ranked opponents further in the competition. The same will be true for his opponent. A part of Srikanth's success at the Indonesia Open was due to the fact that compatriot HS Prannoy had swept away Chen Long and Lee Chong Wei from the draw. This time either player will have to build on his victory going into the tournament weekend.