Sindhu, Sameer beaten in Hong Kong Open final (Roundup)

Rio Olympics silver medallist P.V. Sindhu and upcoming shuttle talent Sameer Verma were beaten in their respective finals of the Hong Kong Open tournament here on Sunday.

India's star women shuttler Sindhu lost to Tai Tzu-Ying of Chinese Taipei 15-21, 17-21 in 41 minutes.

Verma, in his maiden Superseries final, lost to local Ng Ka Long Angus 14-21, 21-10, 11-21 at the Hong Kong Coliseum in a 50-minute battle.

Verma defeated third ranked Dane Jan O Jorgensen in the semi-final.

This was Sindhu's third appearance in a Superseries summit clash. She lost the 2015 Denmark Open final, then claimed the 2016 China Open crown just a week ago.

Tzu-Ying, the fourth seed who has beaten World No.1 Carolina Marin twice in two weeks, dominated the proceedings right from the start.

Sindhu, who is in her prime form after winning silver in Rio Olympics, bounced back in style to make it 8-8. But soon Ying went on a roll to win the next seven consecutive points to reach 15-8.

And from then onwards, Sindhu couldn't find her feet, the Hyderabadi relinquishing the first game 15-21.

In the second, World No.9 Sindhu regained her composure and changed her strategy to overpower the Chinese Taipei shuttler.

But Ting used her cross-court smashes and sliced drops to maximum effect to prevail over the Indian.

In the last few points of the match, Sindhu put up a tough fight but it wasn't enough. She failed to match the pace of her opponent and lost the the second game 17-21.

Commenting on the match, Sindhu said she is pleased with her performance at the tournament despite losing in the final.

"It was a good game overall. It was her day. I played well but she played well at the net, she didn't make any mistakes. There were good rallies. I'm happy with my performance. It's okay, I'll go back and train hard. A bit upset, but overall it went well. I congratulate her for the win," Sindhu said after the match.

"I've played her many times. She's a tricky player, has good strokes and deception. I was prepared for everything. But then one has to win and one has to lose. I was confident because of that. I played the final here. It was anybody's game. It was her day, she played well," she added.

Men's World No.43 Sameer Verma said that he will now target a place in the top 10.

"I am happy to reach final, didn't expect to. While playing him, in second game I was ready to move him around the court. I got a bit tired in the third game after 11 points. Before the final, I was a bit nervous," he said.

"I felt a bit of pressure today, but now now I'm confident of making the top 10. I felt tensed because it's my first final. I talked to (brother) Saurabh yesterday."

"I won the national title in April. I was very confident then of playing at top level. After nationals I got a shoulder injury and had to take a break of 2-3 months. It was a shoulder muscle tear. The shoulder injury affected me. After my comeback I played Thailand and Chinese Taipei," he added.

--IANS

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