Thaindian News

New Delhi, April 28 (IANS) Sourabh Verma continued his giant-killing spree Thursday, upsetting seventh-seeded Kenchi Tago of Japan 21-19, 18-21, 21-11 to storm into the quarterfinals of the India Open Super Series badminton at the Siri Fort Sports Complex here.

Gurusai Datt also made it to the last eight though with a patchy 21-13, 14-21, 21-13 victory over Yuhan Tan of Belgium.

Parupalli Kashyap, however, went down to second seed Indonesian Taufiq Hidayat 17-21, 19-21.

Sourabh, who took out Indonesian Sony Dwi Kuncori, a bronze medallist at Athens Olympics Wednesday, will now face top seeded Malaysian Lee Chong Wei, who beat Korean Lee Hyun 21-13, 21-17.

Datt will take on eighth-seeded Yun Hu from Hong Kong who defeated compatriot Yan Kit Chan 21-16 21-14.

It was Sourabh who hogged the limelight for the second straight day after the shocking upset of India’s World No.4 women shuttler Saina Nehwal Wednesday.

The Madhya Pradesh boy, who now trains in Pullela Gopichand academy, had to come through the qualifiers in which he beat a Malaysian as well.

Sourabh, who won the All India Senior Ranking tournament this year, after the three- hour duel against Tago, said he came into the tournament thinking of putting his best foot forward.

“Beating Sony Dwi Kuncoro yesterday gave me confidence. It is amazing how you feel when you beat a top international player at this level,” an exhausted Sourabh said.

It was a close battle and Tago led 4-2 in the first game. The Japanese kept himself in the front, but Sourabh was never too far behind. From 15-all, Sourabh pocketed four points and sealed the game.

Sourabh was good at retrieving the shuttle and played some good drop shots. He engaged Tago in long rallies pushing him into the back court.

The Indian looked in control in the second game and led 16-13, before losing the plot. Tago fought back to reel off seven points to draw parity.

In the decider, Sourabh stepped up his game and opened a massive 6-0 lead. From there on, the Indian took charge and wrapped up the game without any hiccups.

“I have nothing to lose,” Sourabh said on facing Chong Wei next.

In another quarterfinal, third seed Peter Gade will take on Takuma Ueda of Japan. Gade got the better of Japanese Sho Sasaki 21-12, 21-17 while Ueda beat Hong Kong’s Wing Ki Wong 21-19, 18-21, 21-16.

Hidayat will face South Korean sixth seed Sung Hwan Park, who defeated Wan Ho Shon 21-12, 21-17.

In the mixed doubles, India’s Akshay Diwalkar and Pradnya Gadre went down fighting to Peng Soon Chan and Liu Ying Goh of Malaysia 18-21, 24-22, 12-21.

Gadre, pairing with Jyotshna Polavarapu in women’s doubles, lost to top seed Miyuki Maeda and Satako Suetsuna 8-21, 16-21.

In the men’s doubles, Attri Manu and Jishnu Sanyal went down to top seed Malaysian Kien Keat Koo and Boon Heong Tan 21-9, 21-14