Sourabh upsets former world No. 3 Sony in Indian Open

New Delhi: Young shuttler Sourabh Verma created the biggest upset of the day when he sent Athens Olympics bronze medallist Sony Dwi Kuncoro packing in straight games in the first round of the Indian Open Super Series.

The 20-year-old qualifier beat the former world number three Indonesian 21-18, 21-19 in a hard-fought 41-minute men`s singles match. Currently ranked 37th, Sony had also won the silver and bronze in the World Championship in Kuala Lumpur in 2007 and Hyderabad in 2009, besides winning the Indonesian, Japan Super Series and China Masters. "It is my biggest win. I wasn`t` intimidated by his stature. I just wanted to give my best and see how things pan out and I am glad, I could pull off the victory," said Sourabh, who is playing the first Super Series of his career. He will take on the winner of match between seventh seed Kenichi Tago of Japan and French Brice Leverdez in the second round.The Madhya Pradesh lad have been training in the Gopichand Academy for the last two years and is among the talented group of young shuttlers. "I have been training At SAG (Special Area Games) but the training facilities were not that great. After I moved into the Gopichand academy for the Commonwealth Games camp, I decided to stay there ever since," said Sourabh, who reached the semifinals of the National Championship in Rohtak. Sourabh won the All India Senior Ranking tournament held at Atul, Gujarat in February. This was his first major ranking title on the senior circuit. He also reached the quarterfinals of the Scottish Open in 2009.Meanwhile, Ajay Jayaram too produced a gallant performance against world number one Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia before going down fighting 21-19, 21-18 in a 37-minute match. PTI