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Also Sameer's reaching his maiden Superseries final speaks volumes of how well Indian badminton is doing as a whole. It is not just Saina-Sindhu-Srikanth anymore, we now have other genuine contenders as well who are hungry to follow in the footsteps of their illustrious compatriots!
But Sameer can take a lot of heart from his performance throughout the Hong Kong Open. He played like a champion against the World No. 3 Jan O Jorgensen in his big semi-final upset win. Even today, he came back strongly in the second game and gave the world a taste of how good his talent is. This is only the start of bigger things for the 22-year-old Sameer.
FULL SCORE: 21-14, 10-21, 21-11
Angus is now the first home player to win the Hong Kong men's singles title!
Angus CREATES HISTORY as he takes the decider 21-11
Spinning net shot from the Hong Kong player who is thinking smartly to keep Sameer at bay. Angus is up 19-11 as he inches closer to victory
After Verma gets to 10-16, the momentum shifts to Angus's side again at 17-10
Super attack and retrieval from the Indian who is now 9-16
The rallies are getting longer now as the match has reached its peak. Defence of both the players are shining but it is Angus who still has the lead at 15-6
Post-break, Sameer has reduced the gap to 6-12
Total domination! Angus goes into the break, leading 11-4
The change of ends was what the doctor ordered for Angus. Looking like the player he was in the opener, the local he has raced ahead to 7-4
But Sameer is not giving up! He is trying to move the World No. 14 and has now made it 3-5
GAME 3
Much to the delight of the crowd, Angus is now up 3-1
WOW! What an attacking display that was from Sameer! He made the World No. 14 look half the player that he was in the opener! Can Sameer continue?
Sizzling Sameer has taken the second game 21-10 over the World No. 14
Sameer now two points away from levelling at 19-9
Dictating thoroughly, Verma is now up 17-7
The combination of lift and smash from Sameer has been deadly so far and he is now up 15-7.
*13-6, not 14-6
This is pretty much one-sided now and Verma is up 14-6.
Verma tried to hit back behind to Angus and the tactic worked brilliantly with the World no. 14 struggling to reach all the shots. The Indian goes into the break at 11-5.
Verma now has a 5-point lead at 9-4
Sameer's shot finds the net and Angus gets a point back for 3-7.
Sensational Sameer goes up 7-2 now
Unforced errors from Angus and Verma is amazingly up 6-2
Verma has managed to remain toe-to-toe now. 2-2
GAME 2
More attack from Verma and they are now 1-1
Angus has looked very, very confident so far and his attack has been so on-point today. Verma needs to move him around more and keep his own unforced errors in check.
It doesn't take long for Angus to take the opener at 21-14.
In a rush, Verma now conceding errors fast and furious. Angus has reached game points at 20-14.
Sameer trying to retrieve all the shots but is coming up short in the end with Angus's smashes having the last word! Angus now up 17-13
Once more the local hope uses his excellent attack to surge ahead 15-12
Momentum with Verma who is now 12-13 wow!
Sameer now trying to make Angus rush through his shots and it is working. The Indian has closed in on 11-13.
The Indian even fell trying to reach a shot. Angus up 13-8
2 down-the-line winners and Sameer now 7-11
Sameer got a couple of points but once more Angus's jump smashes are doing the trick. Fully in control, the local hope goes into the break with an 11-5 lead.
Angus can do no wrong! His dropshots from a height are fabulous to say the least! Angus now up 9-3.
Sameer has finally managed to move Angus all over the court and is now 2-7
Full throttle from Angus. His jump smashes have now helped him to get a 7-1 lead. The crowd is thoroughly enjoying this!
Angus's smashes are already looking devastating. Up now 4-1
Both are locked now at 1-1
There is still a few more minutes to go for the match to start. As we wait, you can read what happened in the women's singles final earlier today where India's PV Sindhu finished as the runner-up.
Good afternoon and welcome to the Sportskeeda Liveblog of the Hong Kong Open Men's Singles Final where India's Sameer Verma will be chasing his maiden Superseries crown. Verma, ranked 43rd, played the match of his life to upset the World No. 3 and reigning China Open champion Jan O Jorgensen in the semi-finals. Needless to say, that it was the biggest upset of the tournament.
Now the 22-year-old faces a rival that he is very familiar with since their junior days. NG Ka Long Angus is the current World No. 14 and is the local hope who will definitely have the crowd on his side. But Sameer actually holds a 2-0 winning head-to-head record over his higher-ranked opponent. Can the Indian get another memorable win today?
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That wraps up our live coverage of the Hong Kong Open singles finals. Hope you enjoyed it. We shall be back with the live coverage of the Macau Open next week where both Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu are expected to play.
Till then, it's goodbye from all of us at Sportskeeda! Have a great Sunday.