Sourabh wins Vietnam Open for Pankaj Advani

Second seed Sourabh recovered from a mid-game slump to beat China’s Sun Fei Xiang 21-12 17-21 21-14 in the summit clash which lasted an hour and 12 minutes

HO CHI MINH CITY: 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 badminton tournament here on Sunday.

Second seed Sourabh, who has won the Hyderabad Open and Slovenian International earlier this year, recovered from a mid-game slump to beat Sun 21-12 17-21 21-14 in the summit clash which lasted an hour and 12 minutes.

"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," Sourabh told PTI.

He beat three Japanese shuttlers -- Kodai Naraoka, Yu Igarashi and Minoru Koga -on way to his title win.

"The final was a tough match but I am happy I could play my game and come out victories. This title will give a boost to my confidence," the Indian said.

It was a third career meeting between Sourabh and Sun. The duo has faced off twice this year at Canada and Hyderabad with the Indian coming up trumps on both the occasions.

Talking about the final match, the world no 38 Indian said: "In the first game, I waited for his weak returns. I realised his defence was a little weak, so I looked to exploit that. He committed too many unforced errors and it helped me.

"In the second game, I was troubled by the drift from one side and he jumped into a huge lead. But after the change of side in the decider, I went back to the strategy that worked for me and I am happy I could win," added the National champion.

Asked if he will play the USD 400,000 Korea Open World Tour Super 500 event to be held from September 24 to 29, Sourabh said: "I will head back home now and depending on the condition of my body and the time required to recover, I will take a call if I want to go to Korea or not."

In the finals, Sourabh dominated the proceedings in the opening game as he jumped to a 4-0 lead early on and kept moving ahead. He enjoyed a 11-4 cushion at the break and surged to a 15-4 advantage after the breather.

Sun tried to recover but the gap was too wide to be bridged as Sourabh pocketed the first game comfortably.

The Chinese came out all guns blazing in the second game, zooming to a 8-0 lead. He lead 11-5 at the interval and even though the Indian 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 11-7 advantage at the breather. The Indian then maintained his

lead, despite the Chinese snapping at his heels.

Leading 17-14, Sourabh blasted off the next four points to shut the door on his opponent and win his third title of the year.

The 26-year-old from Madhya Pradesh had won the Dutch Open and Korea Open

last year. MANDALAY (Myanmar): One of India's most consistent sportspersons, Pankaj Advani, on Sunday increased his tally of world titles to 22 by winning a fourth straight final in the 150up format at the IBSF World Billiards Championship here.

The 34-year-old has brought home a world trophy every year ever since returning from a professional stint in the UK in 2014.

In the short format of billiards, this is Advani's fifth title in the last six years.

"It's such a touch-and-go format and so unpredictable that winning this four years on the trot and five out of the last six is extremely special," said the champion athlete.

In a repeat of last year's final against local favourite Nay Thway Oo, Advani re-enacted the one-sided match with the same eventual outcome as well as identical scorelines of 6-2.

"This is the 150 points format in Billiards which is a shorter format and it is unpredictable because anybody can win on that particular day and to maintain consistency in this short format is an incredible feeling (after winning title) for last four years," he told PTI.

From the word go, Advani was in full flow. The gifted Indian was leading 3-0 at the halfway mark with the help of fluent breaks comprising of 145, 89 and 127, while Nay Thway Oo was yet to open his account.

After pulling one back with breaks of 63 and 62, Oo was forced to watch Advani continue to extend the lead. He executed with flair as his sheer brilliance was on display, wowing the Myanmar crowd as they couldn't help but appreciate his brilliant billiards.

Advani secured the next two frames which included a 150 unfinished break. He scored a 74 break and shortly after that closed out the match.

Oo was completely subdued by his accomplished opponent and had to settle for a silver medal for the second time in a row.

With another trophy in the bag, Advani extends his remarkable run of winning a global crown since 2003. The Bengaluru-based cueist has won more world titles in his sport than anyone else.

Advani said winning trophies early in his career did wonders for his mindset.

"Sport is psychological in nature and it helped that I started winning at an early age, and that instilled tremendous amount of self belief in me and I guess that is the reason why I have been able to win that much.

"I feel the opposition has been great and will be better in years to come with a lot more younger players coming, so to be able to maintain this position and repeat this feats is going to be a but then that's what excites me and that is what the sport is all about," he said.

On winning a staggering 22nd world title, Advani added, "Every time I participate in a world championship, one thing is clear - my motivation to excel has not diminished. This win a testament to the fact that my hunger and fire are both well and truly alive." Advani have to adjust to snooker in less than 24 hours as he competes in the IBSF World Six-red Snooker and the World Team Snooker Championships.