After trying her hand at swimming, athletics and gymnastics, a young Bhamidipathi Sai Praneeth was inspired by her aunt – a former national level badminton player – to take up the sport. Since then, he has left no stone unturned to make himself a formidable shuttler.
After turning heads with his impressive performances in the Under-13 and Under-16 tournaments, Praneeth was among the first few players at the famous Gopichand Badminton Academy in Hyderabad in 2008.
After just two years of practice under Gopichand, Praneeth made his debut on the global stage. He achieved the first significant international achievement of his career when he won a bronze medal at the age of 18 at the BWF Junior World Championships in Mexico.
Since then, the Hyderabadi shuttler has shown a steady rise in his game by winning major events and pitted against world-class players. At the 2013 Indonesia Open, Praneeth registered an unprecedented victory when he defeated badminton legend Taufik Hidayat in a three-game thriller.
Three years later, he defeated three-time Olympic silver medalist Lee Chong Wei at the All England Open in Birmingham, before ending the season with a gold medal at the South Asian Games and his maiden Grand Prix title at the Canada Open.
This run continued the following year as he won the BWF SuperSeries title at the Singapore Open. He now joins the ranks of Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth. After a poor 2018 season performance, Praneeth won a bronze medal at the 2019 BWF World Championships. He is the second Indian male shuttler to achieve this feat after the legendary Prakash Padukone (in 1983).
age – 28
Sports/Discipline – badminton
Working Ranking – 15
First Olympic Games – 2020
major achievements
world Championships
– silver – Men’s Singles, 2019 Swiss Open
– A bronze – Men’s Singles, 2019 BWF World Championships
– Gold – Men’s Singles, 2017 Thailand Open
– BWF Super Series title – Men’s Singles, 2017 Singapore Super Series
– BWF Grand Prix title – Men’s Singles, 2016 Canadian Open
Gold – Men’s Singles, 2016 South Asian Games
A bronze – Men’s Singles, 2016 Asian Team Championships
Tokyo Olympic Qualification
Praneeth has maintained his world No 15 ranking to qualify for his maiden Olympics. The Arjuna awardee will be expected to return home with the medal.
recent performances
The 28-year-old Hyderabadi has enjoyed a decent form so far in the revamped BWF 2021 calendar. However, after withdrawing from the BWF Series in Thailand, he quickly bounced back with a quarterfinal finish at the 2021 Swiss Open, which counted as an Olympic-qualifier.
At the 2021 All England Open, he also progressed to the pre-quarters in Birmingham. However, he lost in the Round of 16 match against World No. 2 Viktor Axelsen.
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