Sameer Verma, the only Indian men’s singles player at BWF World Tour bounced back from an opening loss against world champion Kenta Momota to beat against Tommy Sugiarto 21-16, 21-7 in just 40 minutes in his Group B match.
The match was close to begin with Verma getting a slender 8-6 lead but he put together a good run of points to stretch his lead to 11-7 at the mid-game break.
But the Indonesian player didn’t give in easy and every time Verma pulled ahead, Sugiarto fought back. The Indian had a slender 17-16 when Sugiarto won a superb point after a 40-shot rally.
But Verma held his nerve to win four points in a row to wrap up the opening game. In the second, he showed his superb defensive skills to open up a 11-6 lead.
Meanwhile, coach P Gopichand kept indicating to him to stay calm during the mid-game interval as Verma closed in on the win.
The Indian then took a 18-7 lead, playing some solid attacking shots to go with his impressive defensive display and it was all but over for the Indonesian. It was a solid win for Verma, who for many was an unexpected candidate to reach the year-end tournament for the top players of the year.
PV Sindhu, the only other Indian in the season-ending tournament, will face world number one Tai Tzu Ying later in the day.
