Sourabh reaches second round of qualifiers in All England Championship

BIRMINGHAM, Mar 5:
Rising Indian shuttler Sourabh Verma kept his hopes of reaching the main draw of All England Championship alive after notching up a hard-fought victory in the first round of the qualifiers here today.
But it was curtains for compatriots Anand Pawar and RMV Gurusaidutt as they lost their respective first round matches.
World number 43 Sourabh prevailed over Brice Leverdez of France 22-20 23-21 in a 40-minute battle and will take on Rajiv Ouseph, the top seed in the qualifiers, in the second round for a place in the main draw.
It was England’s Rajiv, who punctured Anand’s campaign after pulling off a thrilling 22-20 21-23 7-21 victory over the Indian in the first round of the qualifiers.
RMV Gurusaidutt also crashed out after a 17-21 21-13 10-21 defeat to Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk of Thailand in another match. (PTI)

Follow our WhatsApp channel