Vietnam Open 2019: Sourabh Verma to Play Final Against Sun Feixiang, Indian Shuttler Defeats Minoru Koga in Semis

Ho Chi Minh City, September 14: India shuttler Sourabh Verma booked his place in the men's singles final of the ongoing Vietnam Open BWF Tour Super 100 tournament after registering a straight-games victory over Japan's Minoru Koga on Saturday. The second-seeded Indian defeated Koga 22-20, 21-15 in the semi-final clash which lasted for 51 minutes. Kidambi Srikanth Pulls Out of China Open and Korea Open Due to Knee Injury.

Sourabh, who hasn't lost a game en route to the finals of the ongoing competition, was given a stiff fight by his Japanese opponent throughout the course of the match. However, the World No. 38 came up with a gritty performance in both the games and emerged victorious.

After getting a bye in the first round, Verma -- who is the lone Indian in the competition -- outlasted Japan's Kodai Naraoka 22-20, 22-20 in a tight second-round clash. Naraoka's compatriot, Yu Igarashi then posed a stern test to Verma in which the Indian came out with flying colours. A gruelling 25-23, 24-22 victory sealed the deal for Verma and put him in the quarter-finals.

And the last-eight match against home favourite Tien Minh Nguyen turned out to be the easiest for him as he cruised to a 21-13, 21-18 victory on Friday. He will now face Sun Fei Xiang of China -- who went past Lin Yu Hsien 21-17, 21-16 - in the final on Sunday.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 14, 2019 03:36 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).