Hong Kong, Nov 26 (IANS) Indian shuttler Sameer Verma edged past Jan O. Jorgensen of Denmark to reach the final of the Hong Kong Open badminton tournament here on Saturday.
The Hyderabadi shuttler defeated third seeded Jorgensen 21-19, 24-22 in a contest which lasted around 45 minutes to enter his first Superseries final.
Verma started off on a good note by taking a 8-1 lead in the initial stages of the first game.
But Jorgensen soon found his rhythm and started counter-attacking, taking five straight points to reach 6-8.
Jorgensen dominated proceedings after the mid-game break, but Verma matched the pace of his opponent to take one point lead at 14-13.
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Both players fought hard in the closing stages of the first game but it was Verma who managed to prevail and take the lead.
The second game saw the Denmark player outplaying Verma in every department of the game.
Right from the start, he dominated the Indian shuttler with some swift court movements and excellent net play.
But after the mid-game break, the 23-year-old Indian shuttler bounced back in style to level the scores at 12-12.
It was neck and neck till 17-18 with the Denmark player leading, but in the last three points, Verma managed to hold his nerve and clinched the game and the match.
--IANS
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