Sourabh pulls off big upset, stuns Sony in straight games

Young shuttler Sourabh Verma pulled off the biggest upset of the day when he sent Athens Olympics bronze medallist Sony Dwi Kuncoro packing in straight games in the first round of the Indian Open Super Series in New Delhi on Wednesday. [caption id=“attachment_2832” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Promising youngster Sourabh Verma shocked former World No. 3 Sony Dwi Kuncoro (above) 21-18, 21-19 in the opening round of the Indian Open Super Series in New Delhi on Wednesday. Arko Datta/Reuters”] [/caption] The 20-year-old qualifier beat the former World No. 3 Indonesian 21-18, 21-19 in a hard-fought 41-minute clash. Currently ranked 37th, Sony also won the silver and bronze in the World Championships in Kuala Lumpur in 2007 and Hyderabad in 2009, besides winning the Indonesian, Japan Super Series and China Masters. “It is my biggest win. I wasn’t intimidated by his stature. I just wanted to give my best and see how things pan out and I am glad, I could pull off the victory,” said Sourabh, who is playing the first Super Series of his career. He will take on the winner of match between seventh seed Kenichi Tago of Japan and French Brice Leverdez in the second round on Thursday. The Madhya Pradesh lad has been training at the Gopichand Academy for the last two years and is counted among the country’s talented young shuttlers. “I was training At SAG (Special Area Games) but the facilities there were not that great. After I moved to the Gopichand Academy for the Commonwealth Games camp, I decided to stay there,” said Sourabh, who reached the semifinals at the Nationals in Rohtak. Sourabh won the All India Senior Ranking tournament held at Atul, Gujarat, in February, which was his first major title on the senior circuit. He also reached the quarterfinals of the Scottish Open in 2009. Meanwhile, Ajay Jayaram too produced a gallant performance against World No. 1 Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia before going down 19-21, 18-21 in 37 minutes. “It was my first match and I was taking things a little lightly, playing different strokes but I didn’t except him to play so well. I was trying a few things, taking a feel of the stadium. A few line calls went against me but in the end it was a fair and square match,” said Wei. Disappointed to end up on the losing side after leading 18-15 in the second game, Jayaram said he is planning to balance tournaments with proper rest so that he can peak at the right time and qualify for the Olympics. Up against Sho Sasaki of Japan, Anand Pawar fought hard before going down 21-19, 17-21, 12-21 in another men’s singles match.