Guwahati: Former national champions Saina Nehwal, Parupalli Kashyap and Sourabh Verma advanced to the semifinals of the 83rd Senior Badminton Nationals here Friday.
Defending champion Saina hardly broke a sweat to get the better of former India No.1 Neha Pandit of Mumbai 21-10, 21-10 in a lop-sided quarterfinal contest. The two-time Commonwealth Games champion will next face 22-year-old Nagpur qualifier Vaishnavi Bhale, who was part of India’s Uber Cup squad last year.
Kashyap, a 2012 winner, prevailed 21-18, 21-16 over Bodhit Joshi and will now take on former junior World No.1 for a place in the semis.
Both Saina and Kashyap had played their pre-quarterfinals Thursday night at the newly-laid wooden court at the TRP indoor stadium after refusing to play at the Assam Badminton Academy courts due to ‘uneven’ surface.
Earlier in the day, Sourabh eked out a hard-fought 21-11, 21-23, 21-18 triumph over B Sai Praneeth. Sourabh grabbed seven straight points from 14-18 down in the decider against Praneeth to win the tie.
PTI
