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(2) Sameer Verma (WR #46, Ind) vs Jan O Jorgensen (WR #112, Den)
Head-to-head: Verma leads 1-0
(Verma def Jorgensen 21-19, 24-22 in the semi-finals of the 2016 Hong Kong Open)
Back in November 2016, Verma met Jorgensen in the semi-finals of the Hong Kong Open Superseries. Times were much different then.
It was Jorgensen, who was the heavy favourite in that clash. The former World No. 2 was at the peak of his powers then and was seeded third. Sameer was very much the underdog but was in the middle of his giant-killing run at that tournament.
Much to the surprise of many, Verma looked fearless and held his nerves to eke out a tight two-game win over the higher-accomplished Dane en route to his maiden Superseries final.
More than a year later, it is Verma now, who is placed way higher in the world rankings. Jorgensen is languishing at 112th after having a torrid time due to a heel injury. It troubled him through the first half of the 2017 season until it completely pushed him to the sidelines for eight months.
Jorgensen returned to action only this month at the European Men’s & Women’s Team Championships last week, where he did not drop a game in four wins. With the quality of opponents being better at this week’s Swiss Open, it hasn’t been that easy for the Dane.
Jorgensen was made to work hard by Lucas Corvee in the semi-finals and the Dane conceded the second game before securing a 21-14, 12-21, 21-18 win. The Dane thus might still not be at his very best, but there’s absolutely no doubt that he is getting better with each match.
Sameer Verma too has been in fine form at this tournament and has given enough glimpses of his sizzling run at the aforementioned Hong Kong event in 2016. Verma too was bothered by a shoulder injury for a large part of last year and that prevented him from building on his win at the Syed Modi International.
Having recovered fully, Verma now looks very much like his usual self as he reached the quarter-finals of the India Open earlier this month and now backed it up with a run to the summit clash in Basel. The highlight of his performance this week has been a straight-games win over the in-form Kento Momota, who was on a 38-match winning streak.
However, it hasn’t exactly been smooth sailing for the Indian. In his semi-final against Kantaphon Wangcharoen, he lost his way all of a sudden in the middle game and looked totally clueless as the Thai amped up his attack. He did manage to regroup in the third and notched up a 21-14, 11-21, 21-12 win.
Verma’s game purely depends on his confidence. When he is under pressure, he sometimes has a tendency to panic and make mistakes. For a player like him, an early lead is extremely important.
Verma would surely take inspiration from his solitary win over Jorgensen at the 2016 Hong Kong Open and hope to replicate that result.
Here is all the information you need to know:
Tournament name: Yonex Swiss Open 2018
Category: BWF World Tour Super 300
Total prize money: $150,000
Venue: St. Jakobshalle, Basel, Switzerland
Round: Final
Date: Sunday, February 25, 2018
Time: 6.30-7pm IST
Live Streaming: BadmintonWorld.tv on Youtube
Live Updates: On Sportskeeda
