Odense: India’s Sameer Verma notched up a stunning straight-game win over World No.3 Anders Antonsen to storm into the quarterfinals of the Denmark Open badminton tournament here Thursday night. However, it was curtains for Lakshya Sen.
World No 28 Sameer Verma had qualified for the World Tour Finals in 2018 after winning three titles. He produced a sensational performance to outwit local hero Antonsen 21-14, 21-18 in a men’s singles match. The match lasted for 58 minutes. The 27-year-old Sameer from Madhya Pradesh will lock horns with 33-year-old Tommy Sugiarto. The latter is a bronze winner at the 2014 World Championships.
However, it proved to be too daunting a task for Lakhsya to match Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen. The Dane thrashed the Indian 21-15, 21-7 in a lop-sided second-round contest.
Sameer came into the match against Antonsen with a dismal 1-5 head-to-head count. However, Sameer showed great athleticism and tactical acumen to down Antonsen. The Indian dominated the silver medallist at the 2019 World Championships completely.
Sameer opened a 2-0 lead before increasing it to 11-6 at the break. The Indian kept his nose ahead, crushing all attempts by the Danish player to make a comeback. He comfortably sealed the opening game with three straight points.
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The second game was slightly tighter but Sameer ensured that he held on to his two-point lead throughout after being 5-3 up early on. Sameer entered the interval at 11-8 and didn’t allow Anderson to make any comeback.
Double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu had also reached the quarterfinals Thursday, beating Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrungphan 21-16, 12-21, 21-15 in 67 minutes. She will take on fifth seeded Korean AN Seyoung in the quarters.
