Verma, Ellis/Smith Book Guangzhou Spots
India’s Sameer Verma and England’s Marcus Ellis/Lauren Smith assured themselves of spots at the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2018 in Guangzhou by winning the final qualifying events – the Syed Modi International…
· DEV SUKUMAR
India’s Sameer Verma and England’s Marcus Ellis/Lauren Smith assured themselves of spots at the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2018 in Guangzhou by winning the final qualifying events – the Syed Modi International Badminton Championships and the Scottish Open respectively.
Verma (featured image) went into the Syed Modi International with a must-win scenario – the Indian, 6680 points behind the eighth-placed Kenta Nishimoto (Japan) – needed the 7000 points from the title win to qualify.
Verma had a tough draw in Lucknow, and to his credit, came out with flying colours, surviving three-game encounters in his last three matches. He beat compatriot Siril Verma in the first round; Zhao Junpeng (China) in the second; Zhou Zeqi (China) in the quarterfinals; Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo (Indonesia) in the semifinals, and, finally, Lu Guangzhou (China). In yesterday’s title clash, Verma overcame the loss of the opening game to beat Lu Guangzhou 16-21 21-19 21-14.