BWF French Open: Sameer Verma upsets World No 6 Ginting in round of 32 clash

Spain [France], October 26 (ANI): Indian shuttler Sameer Verma scripted a huge upset to defeat Indonesia's Anthony Ginting in a closely-contested game at the French Open badminton tournament on Wednesday at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin.
The ace shuttler registered a win in the round of 32 matches against the Indonesian to advance into the round of 16 in the French Open badminton tournament.
Verma started slowly in the first set and looked out of rhythm, giving away quite a few easy points to the world number six. Ginting made merry of the loose start from the Indian shuttler and took the lead in the first set.
Verma settled down as the set progressed and made a strong comeback to level the score and then in a spectacular fashion edged past the Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist in the first set. Great net play coupled with deceptive shots helped the Indian ace shuttler seal the first set 21-15.
The second set saw Ginting resort to a more attacking approach attack after being stunned by the world number 31 in the opening set. Verma was taken aback by a flurry of brilliant shots by the Indonesian.
It was a see-saw set that saw Verma save three match points as Ginting looked within close reach to seal the second set at 17-20. But, the Indian fought back to tie the score at 20-20. The set could have gone either way but the experienced Ginting claimed the second set 21-23 to set up an exciting final set.
Both Verma and Ginting played relentless badminton in the final set, both eager to pit the other. The crowd acted catalyst and buoyed the players to go to the extra mile.
It was Verma who prevailed in the final set to clinch the set and the match 22-20 to cause yet another upset in the ongoing tournament.
The first shocker of the tournament occurred when Lee Zii Jia, who had just played the final of the Danish Open, lost to Shesar Hiren Rhustavito of Indonesia in the opening round of the French Open.
It was an unexpected setback for the 24-year-old, who is now the new world number two behind leader Viktor Axelsen (Denmark) in the most recent rankings made public by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) on Monday. (ANI)