The 23-year-old has been plagued by injuries and indifferent form and has been making early exits from tournaments for quite a few years.
He had occasional burst of brilliance from time to time like when he stunned 2003 All England Champion Muhammad Hafiz Hashim of Malaysia at Thailand Open Grand Prix Gold tournament in 2013 or ruined the farewell party of Indonesian great Taufik Hidayat in Indonesia Open in 2013.
But Sunday night, all that changed as the Andhra Pradesh lad thrashed Korea's Lee Hyun Il 21-12 21-10 in a lop-sided final to stand at the podium with his maiden Grand Prix crown.
"I never expected the final to be so easy but I am happy the way I played. I'm happy that I won the tournament and beating Lee Hun Il gives me a lot of confidence going ahead. I I think I played well in this tournament," he told PTI.
Brimming with confidence after the win, Praneeth has now set his eyes on the USD 120,000 US Open Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament.
Praneeth will start his campaign against Sweden's Henri Hurskainen.
" I haven't played him before. But I am looking forward to the match," he said.
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