Tanya hemanth

Guwahati Masters Super: Experienced campaigner Sameer Verma proved that he was getting closer to his best as he upset men’s singles third seed Kiran George in straight games while women’s singles fifth seed Aakarshi Kashyap saved a match point to beat Denmark’s Amalie Schulz to advance to the pre-quarterfinals of the Guwahati Masters Super 100 badminton tournament here on Wednesday.

Verma, who has been struggling with injuries for the last few months, dominated the proceedings against the third seed Kiran throughout the 32-minute second-round encounter, winning 21-13, 21-13.

While Kiran could not find a way past Verma, Kashyap kept her nerves after losing the opening game to beat Schulz 15-21, 21-17, 22-20 in a match that saw the Indian play catch-up in the business end of the third game after her opponent clinched four straight points from 13-16 to take a one-point lead.