Claiming top honors, Indian shuttler Sourabh Verma wins the Russian Open Badminton trophy

Moscow, July 30: Reining the throne, ace Indian shuttler Sourabh Verma has won the Russian Open Badminton trophy after defeating Japan’s Koki Watanabe in the summit clash at Vladivostok on Saturday.

 

Indian badminton fans had plenty to cheer about with the country's budding shuttlers claiming top honors at the Russia Open 2018. Sourabh Verma defeated Japan's Koki Watanabe 18-21, 21-12, 21-17 during the summit clash of the $75,000 Russia Open Tour Super 100 tournament in Vladivostok. The 25-year-old Indian has been on the comeback trail after having suffered a spate of injuries in the past. The shuttler will undoubtedly take immense joy in this victory, which it ought to be his first title of the season since 2016.

 

Sourabh Verma defeated compatriot Mithun Manjunath 21-9 21-15 in just 31 minutes, en route to the final. However, in the summit clash, things didn’t seem easy for Verma as he was made to toil hard by his Japanese opponent, who he was facing for the very first time in his career.

Sourabh Verma narrowly lost the first game in the final 18-21. The scores were level at 18-18 at one point, but the Japanese shuttler eventually clinched the next three points to win the match. In the second game, Sourabh cut down his errors and surged to the 7-3 lead and held an 11-6 advantage at the break. After the breather, he continued to march ahead and eventually roared back into contest comfortably.

 

The third game was a gripping affair which saw the Indian ace bounce back after trailing 11-6. Sourabh's dream continued as he was made to dig deep to emerged victorious 21-17.