New Delhi:
India’s upcoming badminton star Sameer Verma lost to local favorite Ng Ka Long Angus in the grand final of the Hong Kong Open tournament on Sunday.
Verma, who had created waves around the badminton circle with his upset win over World No. 3 Jan O Jorgensen of Denmark in the semi-final match, was beaten by the Hong Kong player 14-21, 10-21, 11-21 at the Hong Kong Coliseum 1 arena.
Sameer’s dream run to the finals meant that he was only the second Indian male badminton players to qualify for a Super Series final event.
It was a landmark win for Angus as he became the first man from Hong Kong to win the men's singles title at the Hong Kong Open.Up against the local favourite, Verma was slow off the tracks and lost the first game in just 15 minutes.
However, he roared back in the next game with some fine strokes from the baseline. Angus was distinctly sluggish in this game and conceded a 10-19 lead. Verma did not take his foot off the pedal and drew level to take the match into the third game.
However, the pendulum swung the other way in the decider and it was Angus' turn to raise his game. With a partisan crowd firmly behind him, Angus opened a 7-3 lead.
The gap kept widening as the match progressed and although Verma tried his best to claw back, Angus had the last laugh courtesy his better all-round game.
Earlier on Sunday, PV Sindhu also suffered a loss in the final, losing to Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei in straight sets.
