India Open 2018, Quarter final: Sameer Verma vs Iskandar Zulkarnain, Live Match Updates

Iskandar wins 21-17, 21-14

Updated: 02 February 2018 19:12 IST - Published: 02 February 2018 16:50 IST

Don't go anywhere as Saina Nehwal will be live in action in about half an hour from now.

We'll bring you live coverage of her quarter-final.

You can follow it live HERE, when it begins.

And with that, Verma's great run ends at this tournament. He had earlier accounted for the seventh seed Anders Antonsen in the first round.

And with Sameer's exit, there will be no Indian in men's singles in the semi-finals of the 2018 India Open.

And Iskandar continues his giant-killing run.

Sends Sameer Verma OUT of the tournament!

21-17, 21-14

SEVEN MATCH POINTS FOR THE MALAYSIAN

20-13

It's 18-12 to the Malaysian

Sameer moving well and has all the right ideas but can't execute them properly.

Sends the shuttle wide again and lets Iskandar go up to 15-11

It's a TWO-POINT deficit now as Sameer is fighting back impressively.

The crowd support is helping him a lot.

12-10 to Iskandar

Four points on the trot for the lower-ranked player.

He leads 11-7 going into the mid-game interval.

Iskandar fails to smash and we are back to all even.

7-7

And it is 5-5

Iskandar continues to have the edge, but only just.

5-4

And 3-3

It's 3-2 to Iskandar

Can Verma fight back here?

It's 2-1 to the Malaysian

SECOND GAME

1-1

Iskandar has grabbed the first game 21-17

Iskandar has reached game points now.

20-17

The first game is moving at a snail's pace at the moment but the lead is still with Iskandar.

18-16

It's 17-15 to the Malaysian

Iskandar once again builds a lead but fails to defend it.

Was up 16-14 but conceded one point to Sameer

Some determined play from the Malaysian as he storms back to level matters here.

14-14

13-11 to the Indian

It's still pretty competitive!

It's 11-10 to Sameer going into the mid-game interval.

The Malaysian looks the more comfortable of the two but is not able to keep his lead going for a long time due to errors.

Iskandar again takes 2 points on the trot and leads 8-6

Iskandar went up 6-5 but Sameer directed the shuttle to his backhand and it paid off as he couldn't put it across the net.

It's 6-6

Iskandar pulls back a couple of points through some great defence.

3-4

And it's 3-1

Early advantage to the Indian

It's 2-1 to Sameer

First point to Iskandar

And we are under way!

Good evening! The players are on court. Match to begin shortly.

Welcome to the live blog of the men's singles quarter-final match of the India Open between Sameer Verma and Iskandar Zulkarnain at the Siri Sports Complex.

The 23-year-old Indian shuttler has displayed exemplary form at the India Open so far, having beaten Anders Antonsen in the first round and Tommy Sugiarto in the pre-quarters. Although he is higher up in the rankings in comparison to his opponent, the matchup promises to be exciting.

After his big win over Kidambi Srikanth in the pre-quarters the other day, Zulkarnain must be high on confidence. It will be tough for Sameer, but he will look to avenge his countryman's defeat.