Pune 7 Aces' Kazumasa Sakai stuns Sai Praneeth in second semi-final

Kazumasa Sakai stunned World Championships bronze medallist Sai Praneeth 15-11, 15-13 as the Pune 7 Aces clashed with defending champions Bengaluru Raptors in the second semi-final at the Premier Badminton League here on Saturday.

Sai Praneeth had lost his solitary meeting on the BWF World Tour to world number 73 Sakai and it looked to be heading the same way when he squandered 11-8 advantage as the Japanese started injecting more pace and power into his shots.

Sakai displayed tremendous resilience and courage under pressure to take seven points in a row and sneak out the first game 15-11 in a remarkable turnaround.

His net rushes put the world No. 11 in a spot of bother as the lower-ranked Japanese shuttler inched ahead to 8-4 in the second game and kept that momentum going to lead 11-8.

Sai Praneeth showed his intent of coming back when he started finding the lines and closed the gap to just one point at 10-11. The India No. 1 saved a match point with a smash but Sakai held off the .