Sourabh Verma defeats Sony Dwi Kuncoro to continue his winning run in the India Open Super Series 2011
The giant killer, Sourabh Verma of India, defeated Sony Dwi Kuncoro of Indonesia in the men’s singles first round of the India Open Super Series 2011, on Wednesday, April 27.
Sourabh, who participated in this event as a qualifier, took only 41 minutes to crush Sony in straight games. In the second round, the Indian will take on either Japan’s Kenichi Tago or Brice Leverdez of France.
In the first set of the game, both players put up a good show by playing an attacking game. Sony was the favourite on paper as he has extensive experience of the game at international level. However, the Indian proved that he was also equipped with the skills
required to win against experienced players.
Sourabh was relying on his superb spinning net strokes, whereas Sony demonstrated incredible defensive strokes that earned him many points. At the end of the first half, the Indian was leading the game with a 11-10 margin.
Sony, who had just recovered from an injury, could not maintain his speed and proved to be a little slower than his opponent. However, Sourabh kept the pace of the game high and spared no chance for the Indonesian to dominate the game. He clinched the opening
set with a 21-18 margin, in 20 minutes.
Sony started the second set in an attacking manner and managed to take a slight lead at 8-6. But the Indian worked well by playing positively and pushed the score to 11-8 in his favour. Sourabh, who defeated the Malaysian shuttler Tan Chun Seang in the qualifying
round, maintained the same speed against the more experienced Indonesian shuttler.
After the break, Sourabh continued his impressive performance in front of the cheering home crowd. Sony, who was not playing at his best, remained just behind the opponent throughout the second set. He failed to find the momentum and struggled to pick the
bird early. Sourabh consumed 21 minutes in the second set and finished it up with a 21-19 margin. The concluding score of this 41-minute fight was 21-18 and 21-19.
Tags: