Mumbai Rockets qualify for semifinals as Sameer Verma remains unbeaten

Sameer Verma remained unbeaten in five matches as Mumbai Rockets registered a resounding 5-0 victory over Chennai Smashers to qualify for the semifinals of the Premier Badminton League Season 4 here Saturday.

Mumbai dominated the tie right from the start by winning the first two matches through Anders Antonsen and their mixed doubles pair of Pia Bernadeth and Kim Gi Jung. Sung Ji Hyun then won Chennai's first match of the day before Sameer Verma completed the win for the Rockets.

The Verma vs Parupalli Kashyap clash, which was the fourth rubber of the tie, was the biggest talking point of the day. With the Mumbai brigade looking up to the BWF World Tour Finals semifinalist to close out the win for the Rockets, trouble brewed for the two-time runners-up early on in Verma's Trump match.

The in-form Verma kept struggling with Kashyap's footwork and precise placement. Just when it looked like he might get beaten for the first time this season as he trailed 12-15, 5-8, the 24-year-old got .