A gritty Sameer Verma pulled off a thrilling three-game victory over China's Lu Guangzu in the men's singles finals to retain the title at the Syed Modi International tournament here yesterday.

The Madhya Pradesh shuttler, 24, showed immaculate defence and a never-say-die attitude to eke out a 16-21, 21-19, 21-14 win in the finals against Lu, 22, who has won the Australian Open and Canada Open this year.