Sindhu breaks Tzu Ying code, Sameer wins
Guangzhou: Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu finally broke her jinx against world no. 1 Tai Tzu Ying with a come-from-behind win in a thriller, while Sameer Verma outclassed Indonesia's Tommy Sugiarto at the World Tour Finals here on Thursday.
After six successive losses in 13 meetings, Sindhu got the better of her nemesis Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei 14-21 21-16 21-18 in a Group A match that lasted a little over an hour.
World No. 14 Sameer, who qualified for the tournament at the last moment after defending his title at the Syed Modi International last month, dished out a dominating performance to beat the 10th ranked Sugiarto 21-16 21-7 in a 40-minute group B clash.
The 24-year-old Indian had lost the opening match against world no 1 and world champion Kento Momota. Sindhu, who had finished runners-up in the last edition, gave ample display of her grit as she bounced back from a game down and erased a 6-11 deficit in the final game to record her first win over Asian Games champion Tzu Ying since the 2016 Rio Olympics. In the 16-minute opening game, Sindhu couldn't produce the winners initially and could only consolidate on the unforced errors of her rival. Tzu Ying, on the other hand, looked as impressive as ever with her deceptive strokes and technical acumen.
Sindhu was lagging 2-6 early on. Tai extended her lead to 8-4 after Sindhu went long and wide. A couple of good looking shots helped Sindhu to grabbed two points before she lifted one to the net.
In the second game, Tzu Ying made Sindhu run around the court with her acute angled returns but made many unforced errors herself. In the final game, Tzu Ying led 3-0 early after Sindhu went long twice. The Taiwanese's incredible touch helped her to extend it to 5-2. She caught Sindhu at the forecourt with her over-the-head cross court shot again.
In the men's singles, Sameer Verma dished out a dominating performance to outclass Indonesia's Tommy Sugiarto in straight games 21-16 21-7 to keep his hopes of qualifying for the knockout stage alive at the BWF World Tour Finals here.
