Hyderabad: Championships bronze medallist B. Sai Praneeth led the Bengaluru Raptors from the front with a comeback 14-15, 15-9, 15-3 victory over World No. 18 Lee Cheuk Yiu of the North Eastern Warriors in the final of the Star Sports Premier Badminton League 2020 at the GMC Balayogi SATS Indoor Stadium here in Hyderabad today.
Having lost to the 2020 Indonesia Masters semi-finalist in their solitary league face-off this season, Sai needed to find his best form against the Hong Kong shuttler. The World No. 11, who was upset by the 73rd ranked Kazumasa Sakai of the Pune 7 Aces in the semi-finals yesterday, began on the backfoot as the two were involved in a highly competitive opening game that tested the grit and resolve of both. Lee edged Sai 15-14 but that woke up the champion in the former Singapore Open winner.
Sai, who has fond memories of winning the PBL title last year with the Raptors, found his aggression just in time to turn around the match. By injecting more pace and power into his shots, the Bengaluru shuttler grabbed the second game 15-9 and kept the momentum going to take a mind-blowing 11-1 lead in the decider. With Lee peppering the court with unforced errors, it did not take Sai much time to finish the successful comeback.