Sourabh Verma beats Sun Fei Xiang to secure Vietnam Open title
India’s Sourabh Verma recovered from a mid-game slump to win against China’s Sun Fei Xiang to clinch the men’s singles title at the USD 75,000 Vietnam Open BWF Tour Super 100 badminton tournament. Sourabh has beaten three Japanese shuttlers en route to clinching the prestigious title.
India’s Sourabh Verma registered a thrilling three-game win over China’s Sun Fei Xiang to claim the men’s singles title at the USD 75,000 Vietnam Open BWF Tour Super 100 Dadminton tournament at Ho Chin Minh City, China, on Sunday.
Second seed Sourabh, who already secured the Hyderabad Open and Slovenian International titles earlier this year continued his remarkable run of form to beat Sun 21-12, 17-21, 21-14 in the summit clash which lasted an hour and 12 minutes.
“The final was a tough match but I am happy I could play my game and come out victorious. This title will give a boost to my confidence,” Sourabh said, reported PTI
This was the third career meeting between Sourabh and Sun. The Indian won both the previous battles in Canada and Hyderabad, this year.
Describing the final match, Sourabh said he“looked to exploit” the weak defense of his opponent who “committed too many unforced errors.”
Sourabh made a confident start in the summit clash as he was 11-4 up at the mid-break of the first game. However, Sun put up some fight to delay Verma's wait for victory in the first game. Sourabh Verma sealed the first game with ease but faltered in the subsequent game.
The Chinese came out all guns blazing in the second game, flying to an 8-0 lead. He led 11-5 at the interval and even though Sourabh tried to make a comeback, it proved an uphill task as Sun roared back into the contest.
In the decider, Sun had a slender 4-2 lead initially but Sourabh ensured he enjoyed an 11-7 advantage at the breather. The Indian then maintained his lead, despite the Chinese knocking on his door. Leading 17-14, Sourabh blasted off the next four points to win his third title of the year.
Defeating three Japanese competitors, namely, Kodai Naraoka, Yu Igarashi and Minoru Koga on his road to victory Sourabh was very happy with his performance, “I am very happy with the way, I played this week. I played three Japanese and these players have similar kind of style. Most like to attack and the little differences in their style is something you have to figure out on the court. So it was nice to beat them,” he signed off.
