Shi Struggles, Momota Cruises – Day 4: HSBC BWF World Tour Finals
Home hope Shi Yuqi staged an escape act against India’s Sameer Verma to earn himself a title shot at the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2018 today.
· DEV SUKUMAR
The Chinese (featured image) will face Japan’s Kento Momota in a rematch of the TOTAL BWF World Championships 2018 final.
India were within a point of having two singles finalists, but Sameer Verma couldn’t capitalise on his match point against Shi and went down in three well-fought games. Verma, against all expectations, had Shi under the gun but couldn’t pull the trigger in time; the third seed made the most of his reprieve and held on for a 12-21 22-20 21-18 victory.
It was Shi’s nervousness, combined with some sensational counter-attacking play by Verma, that saw the Indian get a hold on the proceedings. Verma was sharp, giving Shi no opportunities; to make his own task worse, the Chinese went wide of the lines on his smashes.