Tata Open: Top seed Sourabh Verma knocked out, Lakshya Sen progresses to quarter-finals

Top seed and world No 49 Sourabh Verma became the biggest casualty in the Tata Open India International Challenge after he lost to Thailand’s Sitthikom Thammasin, ranked more than 100 spots below him, in the pre-quarterfinals on Friday.

Verma, who was returning from an ankle injury that kept him out almost the entire month of November, was slow to start the match, conceding a 3-11 lead to the world No 161. The 24-year-old Indian comfortably lost that game 7-21, just unable to keep up to pace with Thammasin’s attacking play.

But just when it seemed like this was going to be one-way traffic, Verma switched on in the second game after changing sides and it was now time for the Thai player to fail to keep up. Verma won the game 21-12 to take the match into a decider.

True to the unpredictable nature of the match, neither player was able to dominate the third game as both shuttlers went neck and neck right till the end. Thammasin eventually got a match point at 20-19 and caught Verma unawares by tossing the serve long. Verma scampered back and just about managed to retrieve it but Thammasin’s plan had worked as he went on to win the point and match.

Verma wasn’t the only seeded player to fall in the pre-quarters. Eighth seed C Rahul Yadav also lost to Malaysia’s Teck Zhi Soo 8-21, 11-21. There were no more surprise eliminations in the draw, as the rest of the seeded players – Lakshya Sen, Pratul Joshi and Abhishek Yelegar – all won in straight games.

The 19-year-old Siddharth Pratap Singh, who beat India’s No 1-ranked senior Daniel S Farid in a marathon first-round match on Thursday, played a second successive three-gamer before coming out a 21-12, 19-21, 21-14 winner against 15th-ranked Siddharath Thakur.

The longest match of the round was between India No 8 Bodhit Joshi and Thailand’s Korakrit Laotrakul. Joshi won 19-21, 21-17, 21-16 after one hour and five minutes of play.

There were no surprises in the women’s singles pre-quarters as all the seeded players came through unscathed. Top seed Rituparna Das was given a scare by 18-year-old Vaidehi Chaudhari before winning 20-22, 21-18, 21-8. Eighth seed Ruthvika Shivani Gadde played the only other three-gamer in the draw, beating Hong Kong’s Fan Ka Yan 14-21, 21-12, 21-10.