Sameer overcomes elder sibling to win Tata Open title
MUMBAI: Third seed Sameer Verma triumphed in the battle of the Verma brothers by trouncing his older sibling and former champion Sourabh 21-11, 21-18 in the men’s final of the Tata Open International Badminton Challenge on Sunday.
Sourabh, who came unseeded into this tournament, was all praise for his brother: “He (Sameer) has improved his game a lot,” he said.
“This is my fourth international tournament this year and the minor injuries sustained throughout the year was a minus point, affecting my match temperament.” Sourabh told HT.
Earlier, Thailand’s second seeded Pornpawee Chochuwang made top seed Jing Yi Tee run all over the court, giving the latter a taste of her own medicine as she scripted a 16-21, 21-11, 21-15 comeback to clinch the women’s single title.
Satwolsairaj Rankireddy and K Maneesha proved too good for their opponents Arun Vishnu and Aparna Balan as they gave India its second title with a 21-13, 21-16 comfortable victory in the mixed doubles final. JAPANESE TRIUMPHS SUGGESTS POWER SHIFT DUBAI: Japan scored the finest double success in its badminton history when Kento Momota and Nozomi Okuhara captured the men and women’s singles titles respectively at the tour’s year end flagship event, the Super Series finals, on Sunday.
Momota, who was involved in one piece of history last year when he helped his coun try win the Thomas Cup world team championship for the first time, created another by beating Viktor Axelsen, the world No 6 from Denmark by 21-15, 21-12 in the rather tame final.
Contrastingly, his compatriot Nozomi Okuhara defeated Wang Yihan, the former world cham pion from China, 22-20, 21-18 in a rather even battle.