Injured Sai Praneeth doubtful for senior nationals

Mumbai: Rising young shuttler B Sai Praneeth has injured his right shin muscle while playing in the ongoing 6th Tata Open India International Challenge here and is a doubtful starter for next week`s 78th Senior Nationals to be held in New Delhi.

"I have hurt my shin muscle during my victory over my Taipei rival (Sheng-Jie Yang) yesterday (in the quarter finals) and it was paining a lot today when I played (against 3rd seed H S Prannoy) in the semi finals," said 21-year-old Praneeth after losing the game. Prannoy defeated Andhra Pradesh`s second seed Praneeth, who trains at the Gopichand Academy in Hyderabad, 21-19 21-10 to enter the final. Praneeth, who lost to eventual champion and India`s highest ranked singles player in men - P Kashyap - in the quarter finals of the 77th senior nationals in Srinagar in October 2012, is to return home to attend to his injury. "I would consult the physio before taking a call whether to play in the nationals (that start on December 16)," said the young player who is ranked 47th in the world and made waves when upsetting Hong Kong`s world no. 4 Yun Hu in the Singapore Super Series in June. "I am seeded 6th in the nationals," he added.