Sameer Verma defended his men's singles title at the Syed Modi International World Tour Super 300 tournament at Lucknow on Sunday. But it was heartbreak for three-time champion Saina Nehwal, who suffered a shocking straight games defeat in the women's singles final.
On the final day of the competition on Sunday, the third-seeded Indian shuttler worked hard to retain his title. Verma beat his Chinese opponent Lu Guangzu of China 16-21, 21-19, 21-14 in the summit clash, which lasted one hour and 10 minutes.
This was their second meeting, and now the head-to-head record is 1-1. Earlier in the year, Guangzu had defeated Verma in straight games 21-14, 21-6 at the Australian Open.
World number nine Nehwal lost to Han Yeu of China 21-18, 21-8 in the final. Han, ranked 27, showed the doors to Saina without breaking a sweat in the women's finals game that lasted 34 minutes.
After a humdinger of an opening game, which witnessed both the players engaged in a tight tussle, the Indian shuttler lost the plot in the second game. This was their first ever meeting.
Commonwealth Games silver medallists Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty and Gold Coast bronze medallists Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy also lost their summit clash in men's doubles and women's doubles events, respectively.
The Indian duo of Satwiksairaj-Chirag, who had won a Super 100 title at Hyderabad, was thrashed by the Indonesian combination of Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto 11-21, 20-22 in the men's doubles finals.
In women's doubles finals, Ashwini and Sikki were denied victory by their Malaysian counterparts Chow Mei Kuan and Lee Meng Yean, who stole the game 21-15, 21-13.
