India Open: Vladimir Ivanov passes Sameer Verma test to surge into Men’s Singles main round
Russia’s in-form shuttler Vladimir Ivanov surged into Men’s Singles main round after crossing the hurdle of India’s Sameer Verma in the qualifying round of India Open Super Series on Tuesday, April 24, in India.
The Russian had to work extra hard to overpower the spirited Indian in a thrilling encounter in which both shuttlers displayed their impressive craft.
Ivanov lost the opening set and remained lucky in taking the second one with a tight margin.
However, he managed to win the ending game with a good margin and secured his berth in the main round.
On the other hand, the spirited Sameer put up superb show in front of his home fans and troubled his Russian rival in the whole contest. He took the first game but could not continue his winning performance and lost the following both games.
Right from the starting points, Sameer played with aggression as he did not drop the pace of rallies and continued snapping his rival’s heel until the break.
After the interval, Ivanov tried to stop the aggression of his opponent but failed to control the bird at net and eventually lost the opening game with a four-point deficit of 17-21.
In the following set, both shuttlers kept the Indian fans engaged in the whole contest as they played at their best speed and managed to remain close on the score board until the one-minute break.
After the interval, they did not show any sign of fatigue as the tempo of rallies remained at the highest level.
The score reached at the dramatic stage of 23-23 when Ivanov managed to play positive and smart badminton and took the set with a narrow score of 25-23.
In the deciding set, Ivanov maintained his incredible speed and managed to take advantage of a reasonable lead until the one-minute break.
After the mid-game interval, Ivanov remained on track and maintained his upper hand over his Indian opponent.
He remained in better position in the entire set and grabbed it with a comprehensive margin of 21-14.
Ivanov emerged as the winner against Sameer in this entertaining qualifying-round battle with a 17-21, 25-23 and 21-14 score on the board.
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