Syed Modi International: Sourabh Varma loses in finals to Wang Tzu Wei

Indian shuttler Sourabh Verma's impressive run at Syed Modi International tournament came to an end after he lost in straight games to Chinese Taipei's Wang Tzu Wei in men's singles final on Sunday. 26-year-old Indian, who won two BWF Super 100 titles in Hyderab and Vietnam this year, went down 15-21 17-21 to world 22 Tzu Wei in a 48-minute summit clash to miss out on his maiden Super 300 crown here. Sourabh came into summit clash with a 1-1 he-to-he record, having lost narrowly to Tzu Wei at Tong Yun Kai Cup in March this year.

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Indian, who was at court for 75 minutes during his semifinal win over Korea's Heo Kwang Hee on Friday, couldn't produce his best in final as Tzu Wei claimed his first title in three years. duo engd in long rallies with Sourabh trailing 1-3 initially but Indian soon mand to make it 4-3 in his favour. Sourabh waited for errors from his opponents and punished any weak returns to grab a 7-4 vant.

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Tzu Wei n tried to play closer to net and it worked as he t only drew parity at 8-8 but le 10-8. Sourabh grabbed two points before finding net as Tzu Wei held a slender 11-10 le at break. Taiwanese shuttler dominated proceedings after interval and opened up an 18-13 le after Indian went long. 

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Tzu Wei eventually sealed opening game after Indian me a judgment error at backline. In second game, Sourabh struggled with length and lagged 0-5 at start. A superb backhand shot gave him a point but Tzu Wei put a lot of power in his smashes to make life difficult for Indian. Sourabh fought his way back to narrow gap to 5-7 before a focussed Tzu Wei mand to hold on to a three-point le at break.

momentum shifted in Sourabh's favour after brear as he clawed his way back at 13-13 when Tzu Wei went wide. Tzu Wei broke run of play with a body smash before Sourabh returned favour and grabbed le for first time in second game at 15-14. Taiwanese, however, again took le and grabbed three championship points and sealed match when Sourabh went long again. 

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