Ponnappa-Reddy, Verma cruise through to finals of Hyderabad Open
Badminton
It was a good day for the Indian contingent as both of its remaining participants swept past their opponents to reach their respective finals of the 2019 Hyderabad Open.
The women’s doubles team of Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy; and reigning national champion Sourabh Verma won in straight games to progress.
Playing the first game of the afternoon on Saturday, India’s top ranked women’s doubles pair of Ponnappa and Sikki Reddy made light work of the Chinese pair of Fan Ka Yan and Wu Yi Ting. The Indian shuttlers won their semi-final clash 21-12, 21-12 in the shortest game of the evening.
Verma shows his class
India’s last remaining singles player Sourabh Verma fought off the challenge of Malaysian Iskandar Zulkarnain to advance to the finals as well.
Carrying on from his splendid performance in the quarterfinals, Verma came up on top in a closely contested first game to win 23-21. The 26-year-old then stamped his authority as he won the second game 21-16 to fight on in the Super 100 tournament.
Verma will now face 41st ranked Singaporean shuttler Loh Kean Yew in the final on Sunday, and would be hoping to win his first Hyderabad Open - a tournament his brother Sameer Verma won last year.
The duo of Ponnappa and Sikki Reddy will play the South Korean team of Baek Ha Na and Jung Kyung Eun in their final.