Chinese Taipei Open: Sourabh Verma keeps the Indian challenge alive

Sourabh Verma kept the Indian challenge alive in the ongoing Chinese Taipei Open 2019 after a straight-game win over Japan's Kazumasa Sakai in the men's singles first round affair on Wednesday.

The 26-year-old Indian shuttler overcame world number 44 Sakai 22-20, 21-13 in 38 minutes. Sourabh will now face local favourite Chou Tien Chen in the second round on Thursday.

Sourabh is the only Indian surviving in the tournament as women's singles player Riya Mookerjee and women's doubles pair comprising Aparna Balan and Prajakta Sawant lost their respective matches in the opening round on Wednesday.

Riya went down 21-19, 11-21, 13-21 to Thailand's Supanida Katethong. On the other hand, Aparna and Prajakta suffered a 19-21, 23-21, 15-21 loss to local pair Cheng Yu-Pei and Juang Tz-Ren.