Sameer Verma missed out on a chance to become only the second Indian to win the Hong Kong Open after losing 14-21, 21-10, 11-21 in the final against NG Ka Long Angus in Hong Kong on Sunday.
However, he became the first Indian man in 24 years to enter the finals of the Hong Kong Super Series after defeating third-seeded Jan O Jorgensen 21-19, 24-22 on Saturday.
Prakash Padukone, who won the tournament in 1982, was the last Indian man to make the finals in Hong Kong. Verma is only the third Indian man to make the finals of a Super Series event. Kidambi Srikanth, who was the first Indian to do so, won the China Open in 2014 and the Indian Open last year.
Here are five things to know about Sameer Verma:
Early story
He was born in Madhya Pradesh and has been training with the Gopichand Badminton Academy since 2010.
His elder brother Sourabh Verma is also a badminton player, who is currently ranked 45th in the world. Sourabh won the Chinese Taipei Masters earlier this year.
Initial success
He won silver at the Asian Junior Badminton Championships and the Commonwealth Youth Games in 2011.
His first international title came in 2013 when he won the men's singles event at the Bahrain International Series.
Form in 2015
He won the TATA Open and Bangladesh Open in 2015. Verma, who was ranked 262nd at the start of 2015, saw a jump in his rankings in 2016. He achieved his career-best ranking of 35 in March.
Recent form
Verma's best performance this year came at the Bitburger Open, where he made the semifinals, losing to eventual champion Yuqi Shi.
He also won the senior national championships this year.
Playing style
Verma is known for his wristy play at the net and has solid retrieval shills. However, he has a tendency to be erratic with his smashes and isn't as powerful as some of the other Indian players.