What’s the story?
The recently-concluded Syed Modi International turned out to be a memorable tournament for the very talented Sameer Verma. The Indian ace went on to win his maiden title at the Grand Prix Gold level at this Lucknow event on Sunday.
With a title in his bag in the first month of the new season, the younger of the Verma brothers is looking forward to use this platform to gain more confidence. Sameer hopes that this big win will give him a major boost ahead of the defence of his crown at the National Championships which is scheduled this week.
“This win will give me a lot of confidence. It is my first GPG final and I won the title, couldn’t have asked for a better start to the new season. It will help me in defending my title at the National championship next week,” Sameer was quoted saying by PTI after the victory.
In case you didn’t know..
Sameer Verma had been in sizzling form for the last few months. The national champion reached the Bitburger Open semi-finals and followed it up by making it to his maiden Superseries final at the Hong Kong Open in November.
The 22-year-old carried that form into 2017 and triumphed at the Syed Modi International without dropping a game.
The heart of the matter
Sameer had always been touted as one of the Indian rising stars to watch but injuries restricted him. After the Nationals in April last year, he unfortunately hurt his shoulder and could not build on the momentum.
That put him on the sidelines for two and a half months. It was only after the recovery that he could play to his full potential and put up that brilliant run towards the end of the season.
What's next?
The Madhya Pradhesh shuttler is ready to defend his National Championships title this week. After that, his main goals self-admittedly are to perform well at the prestigious All England and the World Championships.
Sportskeeda’s take
There was never any doubt about the immense talent that Sameer had. Despite winning his first international titles in Bahrain in 2013, Sameer had a hard time battling injuries that prevented him to play well on a consistent basis.
His improved fitness level allowed him to make his mark at the elite level of international badminton for the first time at the end of last year. And at the Syed Modi International this year, he has showed what he is capable of producing if he remains healthy.
Let us hope he remains injury-free and continues to climb the higher echelons of the sport.
