Comeback-girl Carolina Marin kept her date with a second title in 71 days but Sourabh Verma faltered at the final hurdle of the $150,000 Syed Modi International badminton tournament on Sunday.
Riding a wave of enviable crowd-support, the Olympic champion and seeded fourth here eased to a 21-12, 21-16 triumph over Thai challenger Phittayaporn Chaiwan for her maiden title here.
On a day of straight-game finals produced two new singles champions, Sourabh came a cropper as Chinese Taipei's Wang Tzu Wei, seeded eight, ended a three-year title-drought with a 21-15, 21-17 victory.
Sourabh falls flat
Against a more energetic and accurate rival, Sourabh searched for answers but in vain. He did well to stay close in both games but the superiority of the Chinese Taipei player was never in doubt.
Ranked 22nd in the world and third in his country, Wang Tzu Wei was hardly stretched during the big points. Once he broke away from 10-all in the first game, 36th-ranked Sourabh could not catch up.
In the second game, Sourabh battled back from 8-13 to make it 16-all, but thereafter, Wang Tzu Wei won five of the last six points.
Comfortable win for Marin
Marin, a three-time World champion and ranked 18th in the world, went about her job in a business-like manner. She was comfortably ahead in the opening game. In the second, she easily bridged a five-point deficit. In fact, she won 15 of the last 20 points!
In January, Marin suffered a nasty fall during the Indonesia Masters
final against Saina Nehwal and underwent a surgery on her right knee.
Following an eight-month layoff, in six tournaments, Marin won the China Open in September, lost the French Open final and now added a second title.
Doubles surprise
The mixed doubles final produced a surprise with eighth seeded Russians Rodion Alimov and Alina Davletova upstaging World No. 11 and top seeds from England, Marcus Ellis and Lauren Smith 21-18 21-16.
The women’s doubles finalists, ranked ranked third and fourth in
Korea, fought on an even keel. Jung Kyung Eun, bronze-medallist in the 2016 Rio Olympics, is currently ranked 14th in the world partnering Baek Ha Na, eventually won this rally-filled encounter 23-21, 21-15.
Seeded seventh, Jung and Baek matched the fourth seeds Chang Ye Na and Kim Hye Rin, ranked 12th in the world, all the way during the 28-minute first game before setting the pace with a 6-0 lead in the second.
China won the last title on offer by claiming the men’s doubles. Fifth seed He Jiting and Tan Qiang stopped third seed Korean duo of Choi Solgyu and Seo Seung Jae 21-18, 21-19.
Comments
SHARE