Friday, Mar 29, 2024 | Last Update : 05:06 AM IST

  Chinese Taipei Open crown for Sourabh Verma

Chinese Taipei Open crown for Sourabh Verma

PTI
Published : Oct 17, 2016, 1:01 am IST
Updated : Oct 17, 2016, 1:01 am IST

On a comeback trail after recovering from a series of injuries, Sourabh Verma on Sunday clinched the men’s singles title at the Chinese Taipei Open after defeating Malaysia’s Daren Liew in the summit

On a comeback trail after recovering from a series of injuries, Sourabh Verma on Sunday clinched the men’s singles title at the Chinese Taipei Open after defeating Malaysia’s Daren Liew in the summit clash of the $55,000 Grand Prix tournament here.

The 23-year-old from Madhya Pradesh rallied to grab the first two games and emerged victorious after his opponent Liew retired in the third game with a shoulder injury and the scoreline reading 12-10, 12-10, 3-3 in the Indian’s favour.

It was a case of being third time lucky as Sourabh, who had ended runners-up at Belgium and Poland international challengers, finally crossed the finishing line after spending almost a year on the sidelines due to elbow and knee injuries last year.

“It is a great victory for me and a much needed one. I had reached the finals at Belgium and Poland but could not win. So I was determined not to make the same mistakes here and I am happy I could win today,” Sourabh, who was the 2011 national champion and was runners-up this year, said.

Sourabh started off well in the opening game and was leading 5-3 at one stage but Liew soon turned the tables with a five-point burst to lead 8-5. But Sourabh kept breathing down his neck and at 7-10, reeled off five straight points to grab the first game.

The second game turned out to be more difficult as Liew once again surged to a 5-1 lead and held on till 10-6 when the Indian stepped on the gas and once again grabbed six points on the trot to leave Liew shocked.

Jayaram loses in Dutch Open final In Almere, the Netherlands, Ajay Jayaram failed to notched up his third straight title in the Dutch Open as he went down fighting in the summit clash.

Top-seeded Jayaram lost 10-21, 21-17, 18-21 to second seed Tzu Wei Wang of Chinese Taipei in a close contest that lasted 55 minutes. He had won the title of this tournament in 2014 and 2015.