Cuttack: Unnati Hooda, Tasnim Mir, Isharani Baruah, Kiran George and Rounak Chouhan all continued their strong run at the Odisha Masters to secure semi-finals spots Friday.
In men’s singles second seed Kiran George stayed solid with a commanding 21-11, 21-17 win over Rithvik Sanjeevi in 33 minutes. He will next face Rounak Chouhan, who continued his strong surge by upsetting seventh seed and compatriot Sankar Muthusamy Subramanian 21-19, 22-20 in a tight 41-minute battle. Indonesia’s Muhamad Yusuf got the better of top seed Tharun Mannepalli 21-9, 22-20 in 49 minutes.
The women’s singles quarterfinals also saw shocks, with Tanya Hemanth defeating third seed and World Junior Championships silver medallist Tanvi Sharma 21-18, 21-17 in 39 minutes to reach the semifinals. She will face fellow Indian Isharani Baruah, who has been in top form this week. Baruah, who began her campaign with a major upset over second seed Pornpicha Choeikeewong and received a walkover in the next round, extended her fine run by beating sixth seed Anmol Kharb 21-16, 21-14 in 41 minutes.
Top seed Unnati Hooda maintained her dominance with a 21-16, 21-15 win over Anupama Upadhyaya and advanced to the semifinals. Tasnim Mir also produced a strong performance, easing past seventh seed Tung Ciou-Tong of Chinese Taipei to complete an all-Indian semifinals lineup in women’s singles—assuring India multiple medals.
In women’s doubles, Ashwini Bhat and Shikha Gautam delivered a strong performance to outplay sixth seeds Kavipriya Selvam and Simran Singhi 21-12, 21-14 and secure a semifinal berth. However, in men’s doubles, pairs Bhargav Ram Arigela/Viswa Tej Gobburu and Pruthvi Krishnamurthy/Sai Pratheek fell to their respective opponents.
In mixed doubles, Sathwik Reddy Kanapuram and Reshika Uthayasooryan advanced with a confident 21-15, 21-19 win over Indonesia’s Nawaf Khoiriyansyah and Nahya Muhyifa in 38 minutes. The fourth-seeded duo of Ashith Surya and Amrutha Pramuthesh, however, suffered a defeat to Thailand’s Tanadon Punpanich and Fungfa Korpthammakit, going down 21-7, 21-8.
IANS
