PV Sindhu remains fifth; Sameer Verma drops out of top eight in race to BWF World Tour Finals

PV Sindhu now remains the only Indian in the top eight shuttlers across five disciplines, who will get to qualify for the season-ending BWF World Tour Finals to be held in Guangzhou, China next month. After the world rankings were updated this week, Sameer Verma fell three spots to 12th.

Verma’s chances are still not completely over, though. He is the defending men’s singles champion at the Super 300-level Syed Modi International beginning November 20, where the winner will be awarded 7000 points. A win at the Lucknow tournament might push him back to the top eight and help him realize his dreams of qualifying for the prestigious USD 1,500,000 event for the very first time in his career.

In a season where the Indian men’s singles department hasn’t been able to deliver according to expectations, the 24-year-old Dhar native has been India’s most consistent performer. His wins at the Swiss Open and the Hyderabad Open validate it.

Verma had been inside the top eight for the most part of the last few months and he would clearly need a strong show at the Syed Modi International to get back there again.

PV Sindhu bowed out of the China Open in the quarter-finals last week, but that could not affect her position in the race to the season-ending championships. However, Sindhu crashed out of the Hong Kong Open this week in the second round, having been the runner-up for the last two years. The setback could push her down when the rankings are updated next week.

Sindhu has had a consistent 2018 season although she is yet to win her first title since her Korea Open triumph in September of last year. The 23-year-old Pullela Gopichand protégé made it to as many as five finals, which include the World Championships, the Asian Games, and the Commonwealth Games.

Sindhu is the defending runner-up at the World Tour Finals, having lost the summit clash last year to Akane Yamaguchi.