Chinese Taipei Open | Sourabh Verma loses to Chou Tien Chen ending India’s campaign

Chinese Taipei Open | Sourabh Verma loses to Chou Tien Chen ending India’s campaign

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World No. 36 Sourabh Verma, who was the only Indian shuttler left in the Chinese Taipei Open, went down in straight sets to local favourite and top seed Chou Tien Chen. With Saina Nehwal pulling out of the event early, the 26-year-old was India’s biggest hope in the $500,000 tournament.

Despite the fact the Verma had won the Chinese Taipei Open back in 2016 and was coming off a successful Hyderabad Open title win into the big match, Chen had absolutely no problem dismantling the Indian shuttler in the second round on Thursday.

Verma had faced Chen twice before, winning both the times, but the Taiwan top seed remained unfazed by that head-to-head record. Playing at home, Chen raced to a 5-0 lead early on the first game and Verma could not reduce the deficit as they ended up 11-5 at the break. While Verma tried changing things after the break, Chen was too far ahead by then and won it 21-12.

The second game saw the Indian taking an early 3-1 lead as many thought a comeback was on. However, once Chen got going, Verma could add just one more point to it trailing at the break by seven points. The game was all but over and this time Chen won it 21-10, sealing the match in just 30 minutes.

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