Sourabh enters final, Rituparna out in semis

LUCKNOW: A gritty Sourabh Verma entered the men’s singles final after a hard-fought threegame win over Korea’s Heo Kwang Hee in the semi-finals of the Syed Modi International.

The 26-year-old Indian displayed a never-say-die attitude during his thrilling 21-17, 16-21, 21-18 win over Heo, ranked 44th in the world.

Sourabh thus set up a final clash with eighth seeded Taiwanese Wang Tzu Wei, who thrashed former world No. 1 Korean Son Wan Ho 21-9, 21-7 in the other semi-final of the Super 300 event. Earlier, former national champion Rituparna Das lost to Thailand’s Phittayaporn Chaiwan in the women’s singles semi-finals. The 23-yearold Indian went down fighting 22-24, 15-21 to Chaiwan in a 39-minute singles semifinal.