Subhankar Dey wins 2018 SaarLorLux Open

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India’s Subhankar Dey ousted Rajiv Ouseph of England 21-11, 21-14 in the finals of the SaarLorLux Open at Saarlandhalle in Saarbrucken on Sunday. This is the 59th ranked’s first title in 2018.

Subhankar Dey clinched the 2018 SaarLorLux Open
Subhankar Dey clinched the 2018 SaarLorLux Open

Subhankar overcame Belgium’s Elias Bracke 21-19, 15-21, 21-7 in the opening game. The 25-year-old followed it up with 21-18, 21-18 win over Italy’s Fabio Caponio and caused a major upset when he triumphed over former World No. 1 Lin Dan 22-20, 21-19 in straight sets. In the quarterfinals and semifinals, his destiny would collide with England’s Toby Penty and China’s Ren Pengbo respectively. The Kolkata-born player shrugged both of them 21-16, 21-9 and 21-18, 11-21, and 24-22.

Earlier in the competition, Harsheel Dani bowed out to France’s Lucas Corvee 16-21, 18-21 in the second round and Pratul Joshi succumbed to Canada’s Jason Ho-Sue 9-21, 16-21 in the first round. 8th seed Parupalli Kashyap made it to the quarter finals where France’s Toma Junior Popov eked him out 16-21, 18-21.

In the Women’s’ Singles event, Prashi Joshi bowed out to #1 seed Gao Fangjie 6-21, 12-21 in the first round. Anura Prabhudesai succumbed to Bulgaria’s Linda Zetchiri 12-21, 13-21 in the first round Denmark’s L Kjaersfeldt got the better of Saili Rane 21-14, 21-9 in the quarterfinals.