Syed Modi International: Sensational Sameer Verma defends title, erratic Saina Nehwal sinks
Lucknow, Nov 25: A gritty Sameer Verma produced a sensational performance to defend his men's singles title, making up for the failure of his compatriots in the other finals at the USD 150,000 Syed Modi International here Sunday.
World no 16 Sameer defeated China's Lu Guangzu 16-21 21-19 21-14 in a pulsating summit clash to lift the trophy for the second successive time even as Saina Nehwal, men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty and women's doubles combination of Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy bite the dust.
Former champion Saina failed to produce her best, losing 18-21 8-21 to young Chinese Han Yue -- a 2017 world junior championship silver medallist -- in a lop-sided women's singles summit clash.
Saina, who won a gold and a bronze at the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games respectively, had ended second best at the Indonesia Masters in January and Denmark Open in October this year.
Earlier, Commonwealth Games silver medallists Satwik Sairaj and Chirag also went down 11-21 20-22 to second seeds Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto of Indonesia to settle for the runners-up prize in the men's doubles competition.
Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Ashwini and Sikki also couldn't live up to the expectations, losing 15-21 13-21 to third seeded Malaysian pair of Chow Mei Kuan and Lee Meng Yean in women's doubles final. The Indian pair had lost in the finals in the last edition as well.
Sameer then brightened up the dismal day with his never-say-die attitude to claim his third title of the season, following victories at Swiss Open and Hyderabad Open.
His performance helped him gather enough ranking points to surpass Japan's Kenta Nishimoto at no 8 in the HSBC Race to Guangzhou Rankings and qualify for the year-ending BWF World Tour Finals to be held in December.
Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu is the only other Indian to have qualified for the prestigious tournament in China.
Sameer played patiently, constructing the rallies with his repertoire of strokes to dominate early in the opening game. He led 6-2 initially, before extending it to 8-4.
An error of judgement at the backline followed by Lu's three smashes saw the Chinese claw back at 8-8.
Lu unleashed another down-the-line smash to lead 10-8 before he entered the break after winning a fast-paced rally.
After the interval, Sameer looked more positive in his approach as he levelled the scores with three straight points.
But Lu again turned the tide, smashing his way to a comfortable 20-14 lead when the Indian hit wide. Sameer saved two points before another smash earned Lu the bragging rights.
The second game saw some exciting rallies right from the start with Sameer grinding out a 10-7 lead after splitting the initial 14 points. The Indian grabbed an 11-8 lead at the breather after Lu hit long.
After the break, Lu kept snapping at Sameer's heels, finding gaps in his rival's defence to narrow the lead to 13-14 and then turned the tables when Sameer hit the net.
A wide smash from Lu again gave the lead to Sameer at 17-16. But two precise returns helped Lu to draw parity at 18-18.
Another fast-paced rally ended with Lu hitting wide and he found the net next to hand two game points to Sameer. The Indian missed the line once but produced an accurate return at the backline to take the match to the decider.
Sameer strengthened his defence and used the momentum of the second game to dominate early in the decider.
He led 7-3 but Lu once again scripted a recovery, reeling off seven straight points to led 10-7.
Sameer then unleashed a body smash and hit two more sizzling smashes to make it 10-10. Lu went to the net next as Sameer managed a slender 11-10 advantage at the break.
The Indian took the next two points after the change of sides before an excellent drop shot left him sprawling on the floor.
The Indian showed immaculate defence and pounced on the chances to eke out a 16-12 lead with the help of betternet game and a couple of rasping shots.
Lu crumbled after that, hitting long and wide to hand over six match points to Sameer, who converted them as the Chinese hit the net.
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SP MPs demand discussion on Sambhal in Parliament, SC-monitored probe
New Delhi (PTI): Samajwadi Party (SP) leaders on Wednesday said they want to discuss the Sambhal issue in Parliament and demanded that any probe into the incidents that led to violence in the Uttar Pradesh town should be conducted under the Supreme Court's monitoring.
"We want a discussion on the incident that happened in Sambhal. Many of our MPs have issued notices to the speaker regarding this. We want to speak on the floor of the House about the inhuman behaviour of police and the administration against people," SP MP Dimple Yadav said.
Four people died and scores, including police personnel, were injured in Sambhal on Sunday after a confrontation erupted over a court-ordered survey of the city's Shahi Jama Masjid in the Kot Garvi area, following a petition claiming that a Harihar temple once stood at the site.
SP MP from Sambhal Zia ur Rahman, who has been named in an FIR for allegedly inciting a mob, claimed that he was not present at the site when the incident took place, and slammed police and the administration for opening fire on citizens.
Asked about him being named in the FIR, Rahman said, "They (BJP) are in power, they can do anything. I was not even present there. I was in Bengaluru and I am being blamed for the riots."
"I am more worried about those killed by police and those who are being tortured. I am more worried about those who are being dragged into this," he said.
"One person fell down after getting hit by a baton and then they fired on him. They are citizens of India, not enemies. This is not a Hindu-Muslim fight. Some anti-social elements were behind it and the rest was done by police and the administration," he said.
Rahman said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should visit Sambhal.
"The prime minister should come forward and go and see the situation. Do not make Sambhal another Manipur," he said.
Rahman blamed the administration for the incidents and demanded a probe monitored by the Supreme Court.
"This was pre-planned by police. They wanted to trigger riots on the first day but I was there, so they did not succeed. Today, INDIA bloc MPs have raised the demand to hold discussions on this issue in the Lok Sabha and a proper investigation monitored by the Supreme Court should be conducted," he said.
SP MP Dharmendra Yadav said people do not have faith in the probe being carried out by the administration.
"The probe into the Sambhal incident should be conducted under the monitoring of a Supreme Court judge, because no one trusts the administration anymore. The administration was behind the whole incident," he said.
Yadav alleged that the violence was orchestrated to divert attention from the malpractices during the recent bypolls in Uttar Pradesh.
"They have done this to distract attention from the malpractices during the bypolls. A petition was filed a day before the polls, the decision taken on the same day, a delegation appointed and even the survey was carried out.
"They said the survey had been completed. Then why did a team visit the place again to conduct another survey? The administration should answer these questions," he said, adding that the SP will continue its struggle for justice.
A magisterial probe into the Sambhal violence is ongoing.
