Chinese Taipei Open: Sourabh exits, Indian challenge ends

Taipei, Sep 5: The Indian challenge at the Chinese Taipei Open badminton tournament ended on Thursday as Sourabh Verma went down in straight games to World No. 2 Chou Tien Chen in the men's singles second round event.

World No. 38 Sourabh, who won the Hyderabad Open last month, couldn't pose much of a threat to the top-seeded Chen, after losing the contest 12-21, 10-21 in 31 minutes.

Chen raced away to an early 5-0 lead and held on to a healthy 11-5 lead at the mid-game break. Sourabh tried to make a comeback but couldn't taste success against the Taipei shuttler, who went on to win the opening game with ease.

In the second game, Sourabh took a 3-1 lead early but failed to keep the momentum going as Chen once again started to dominate the proceedings as he led 11-4 at the mid-game break. The local continued to dominate later on and clinched the second game too.

Sourabh will next feature at the Vietnam Open 2019, starting September 10 in Vietnam.