SINDHU BEATS WORLD NO 1 TAI TZU YING, FINALLY
SAMEER VERMA TOO OUTCLASSES INDONESIA’S TOMMY SUGIARTO
GUANGZHOU:It was a good day for India at the BWF World Tour Finals here on Thursday. While Sameer Verma outclassed Indonesia’s Tommy Sugiarto to keep his hopes of qualifying for the knockout stage alive, PV Sindhu finally got the better of World No 1 Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei in a thrilling match that lasted the distance. Sindhu, who defeated defending champion Akane Yamaguchi in her opening group A match on Wednesday, defeated Tai Tzu 14-21, 21-16, 21-18 in a match that last over an hour.
It was a much-awaited victory for the Indian who had lost her six past clashes with Tai Tzu. Two wins on the trot here guarantees her a spot in the semis. Her third group match will be against USA’s Beiwen Zhang, who lost her opening match against Tai Tzu. Yamaguchi and Tai Tzu will fight for the group’s second slot.
World No 14 Verma looked at ease against the 10th ranked Sugiarto, defeating him 21-16, 21-7 in a 40-minute Group B clash.
The 24-year-old Indian, who had lost the opening match against world no 1 and world champion Kento Momota, will face Thailand’s Kantaphon Wangcharoen next on Friday.
On Thursday, Verma ’s sharp game made life difficult for his opponent. The Indian trailed 3-1 and 6-5 initially but he soon wrested the lead with four straight points before entering the break at 11-7. Sugiarto tried to stage a comeback and narrowed the deficit to 16-17 but Verma reeled off the remaining four points to seal victory.
In the second game, Sugiarto again took a slender 5-3 advantage early on but the Indian soon stamped his authority to move from 7-6 to 16-6 with a nine-point burst and then slammed the door on his rival with another five straight points.
DAVIS CUP CAMP IN KOLKATA
KOLKATA: India’s Davis Cup captain Mahesh Bhupathi said the preparatory camp for the qualifier against Italy will start here on January 23. Speaking at an event here on Thursday, Bhupathi said he is undecided about whether India will field five or six players for the tie.