Japan Open 2019: Anders Antonsen defeats Sameer Verma

B. Sai Praneeth raised India's stakes in the Super 750 tournament with a thunderous victory over World No 11 Kento Nishimoto (Japan) on Tuesday, the eyes will now turn to Sameer Verma.

Sameer Verma had missed out on Indonesian Open due to a shoulder niggle.

Good morning and welcome to the live blog of Japan Open 2019. 

FINAL RESULT: Anders Anderson has defeated Sameer Verma 21-17, 21-12.

The Indonesia Open runner-up Anders Antonsen played flawlessly to ensure that there wasn't a slip-up. India's star shuttler, P.V. Sindhu, will play today. Join us for more updates then. Till then, stay tuned!

It was supposed to be a to be a tough game but Sameer Verma could not really make his presence felt. The youngster did try, on a few occasions, to bounce back. But that wasn't enough. In the end, it turned out to be a smooth sailing for Anders Anderson. 

10: 44 AM: 21-12! THAT'S IT THEN. Anders Anderson  has defeated Sameer Verma 21-17, 21-12.

10: 42 AM: It's 17-12. Not over yet for Sameer. Well, Antonsen has extended the lead to 18.

10: 40 AM: Antonsen has gone on to 15... Make that 16. Sameer trails at 11.

10: 38 AM: 12-10! Antonsen! Wait, make that 13!

10: 37 AM: Oh wait, Antonsen has made it 11. Sameer pulls one back and scores are now 11-10 in favour of Antonsen.

10: 36 AM: It's 9-9 now. What a match this is turning out to be. Now, Sameer makes it 10-9. Brilliant come back...

10: 35 AM: Well, Sameer has taken a 9-8 lead now!

10: 32 AM: Sameer pulls one back. But Antonsen maintains 7-6 lead.

10: 30 AM: Well, things moving away from Sameer. Antonsen takes 6-3 lead!

10: 29 AM: Antonsen has gone ahead. Again! It's 4-3... Can Sameer pull it back?

10: 28 AM: It's a great fight back by Sameer. It's 3-3 in the second set!

10: 24 AM: Sameer needs to bounce back in the second game. Can he do it?

10: 23 AM: 20-17...  And that's it. The first set has been clinched by Antonsen 21-17.

10: 22 AM: Well, it's 19-17 in favour of Antonsen.

10: 15 AM: This is turning out to be one nail-biting fixture, with Sameer coming back from behind to match up with Antonsen.

 

B. Sai Praneeth raised India's stakes in the Super 750 tournament with a thunderous victory over World No 11 Kento Nishimoto (Japan) on Tuesday. The eyes will now turn to the 24-year-old Verma, who had missed the Indonesia Open due to a shoulder niggle.

While we wait for the doubles matches to get over, here's a recap of what happened on the opening day.

Sai Praneeth vs Nishimoto: Praneeth had pulled out of the last edition of this tournament and he came out with a confident performance this time around. (FULL REPORT)