Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap clinched his first international title in over three years as he overcame Malaysia's June Wei Cheam to emerge men's singles champion at the Austrian Open International Challenge.
Kashyap, a former National champion and second seed, saw off Cheam 23-21, 21-14 in a 37-minute clash late last night.
"It has been a tough week. I haven't won so many matches in a single tournament for quite sometime and then playing two rounds in a day was tough. I have been struggling against almost same set of players in the last three super series and I knew I have to cross them here. So happy with my performance," Kashyap said.
His last title came at the Syed Modi International Badminton Championships in 2015.
The 31-year-old Indian, who had reached the finals of US Open Grand Prix Gold last year, looked in good touch throughout the tournament as he didn't drop a single game en route the title.
The final, however, was not a cakewalk as world number 126 Cheam matched Kashyap in the first game, which went down to the wires.
In the end, the Indian, ranked 44, had to save three game points before pocketing the first game.
Kashyap looked in better control in the second game and eventually sealed the contest in 37 minutes.
A former world no 6, Kashyap had been wrecked by a calf muscle tear, went under the knife for a knee injury, suffered a dislocation of his right shoulder, a hamstring pull and an abdominal strain - all within the last few years. Comeback has been hard and his ranking slipped significantly.
Sameer lifts Swiss Open title
Basel: Indian shuttler Sameer Verma dished out a clinical performance to outwit former world no 2 Jan O Jorgensen and clinch the men's singles title at the $150,000 Swiss Open Super 300 tournament, here on Sunday.
The 23-year-old from Madhya Pradesh showed great anticipation and technique and added power in his smashes to bamboozle Jorgensen 21-15, 21-13 in a lop-sided contest.
Sameer, who had clinched the Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold last year and reached the finals at 2016 Hong Kong Super Series, thus lifted his first title of the season and joined fellow Indians Kidambi Srikanth and HS Prannoy, who had won the title in 2015 and 2016.