Sameer Verma wants to make an impact at All England Championships
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After some good performance in 2018, Sameer Verma is aiming to have an impact in the upcoming All England Championship this month. The 24-year-old has stated that despite losing to Victor Axelsen twice in his career, he is not afraid of facing the shuttler from Denmark in the first round.
Verma's successful performance was one of the positives for Indian badminton last year as the 24-year-old got to his career-best ranking of 11. The Indian shuttler has now got his eyes set on the important All England Championship which is scheduled to begin from March 6. In the first round of the championship, Verma will have to face former World No. 1 Axelsen.
“I know I am playing world champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark in the first round. I have lost twice to him but I am not too worried about playing him. I would look to do well. I played him around seven months ago. Since then, I feel I am better prepared to take him on,” Verma told TOI.
“I have to win a big tournament and I want it to be All England. My mindset and strategy have improved a lot now.”
The youngster had reached the semi-finals of the World Tour Finals in December last year and had also won Swiss Open, Hyderabad Open and Syed Modi International. He was beaten by Shi Yuqi in a thrilling semi-final in the World Tour Finals by 21-12, 20-22, 17-21 points. Verma still has the defeat in mind as he lost that game despite having a match point opportunity in the second game.
“If I would have won the World Tour Finals or reached the final, I would have broken into top-10 that time. The loss against Shi Yuqi is still in my mind. I guess it will only go once I win something big. But I have the idea now. I know I can be in that top-10 or top-8 if I remain fit and injury-free,” said Verma.
“I want to play Momota. I had beaten him at Swiss Open on way to triumph but I lost to him at the World Tour Finals and I want to test my game against him, compete against him. He is having a purple patch recently.”
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