Former champion Sourabh Verma progressed to the US$ 500,000 Chinese Taipei Open second round with a straight-game win over Japan’s Kazumasa Sakai in men’s singles here on Wednesday.
Sourabh Verma
Taipei:
While Riya lost 21-19, 11-21, 13-21 to Thailand’s Supanida Katethong, Aparna and Prajakta suffered a 19-21, 23-21, 15-21 defeat at the hands of local pair of Cheng Yu-Pei and Juang Tz-Ren. In the men’s singles match, Sourabh, who had clinched the title in 2016, erased a 3-6 deficit to grab a slender 11-10 lead at the break.
The Indian quickly pocketed two more points, but the Japanese came back to hold a 15-14 advantage. Sourabh, however, moved ahead again at 18-16 and held two game points at 20-18. Sakai reeled off two points to draw level before the Indian marched in front to seal the opening game.
In the second game, Sakai surged to a 6-0 lead but Sourabh turned the tables, earning a one-point cushion at 9-8. During the breather, the Indian held a tiny one-point (11-10) advantage. After the restart, Sourabh looked in a different zone as he kept gathering points at will, even as Sakai crumbled.
The 26-year-old from Madhya Pradesh overcame World No. 44 Sakai 22-20, 21-13 in 38 minutes. Sourabh, who won the Hyderabad Open last month, emerged as the only surviving Indian in the World Tour Super 300 tournament following defeats in women’s singles (Riya Mookerjee) and women’s doubles (Aparna Balan and Prajakta Sawant).
While Riya lost 21-19, 11-21, 13-21 to Thailand’s Supanida Katethong, Aparna and Prajakta suffered a 19-21, 23-21, 15-21 defeat at the hands of local pair of Cheng Yu-Pei and Juang Tz-Ren. In the men’s singles match, Sourabh, who had clinched the title in 2016, erased a 3-6 deficit to grab a slender 11-10 lead at the break.
The Indian quickly pocketed two more points, but the Japanese came back to hold a 15-14 advantage. Sourabh, however, moved ahead again at 18-16 and held two game points at 20-18. Sakai reeled off two points to draw level before the Indian marched in front to seal the opening game.
In the second game, Sakai surged to a 6-0 lead but Sourabh turned the tables, earning a one-point cushion at 9-8. During the breather, the Indian held a tiny one-point (11-10) advantage. After the restart, Sourabh looked in a different zone as he kept gathering points at will, even as Sakai crumbled.