Former World No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth defeated a fighting Kartikey Gulshan Kumar 2-1 and entered the men’s singles semifinals of the 84th National senior badminton championships in Pune on Sunday.
The second-seeded Srikanth is the lone seed from the top eight to enter the last-four stage.
Meanwhile Priyanshu Rajawat beat Kiran George, who had packed off the top-seeded H S Prannoy a day earlier, in straight games.
In the women’s section, Ashmita Chaliha and Aakarshi Kashyap entered the semifinals in contrasting style. Ashmita defeated Isharani Baruah 21-10, 21-23, 21-16 while Aakarshi ended Pune’s 13th seed Purva Barves’ challenge with a 11-21, 21-13, 21-14 verdict.
RESULTS
Men’s singles: Quarterfinals: K. Srikanth bt Kartikey Gulshan Kumar 21-10, 18-21, 21-16; M. Mithun bt Sourabh Varma 15-21, 21-19, 21-19; Harsheel Dani bt Yash Yogi 21-10, 21-15; Priyanshu Rajawat bt Kiran George 21-14, 21-15.
Pre-quarterfinals: Kiran bt Tharun M. 21-12, 21-18; Priyanshu bt K. Jagadeesh 21-19, 18-21, 21-11; Harsheel bt Sai Charan Koya 21-11, 18-21, 21-14; Sourabh bt Rahul Yadav 15-21, 21-17, 21-7; Mithun bt S. Bhargav 21-17, 21-12; Srikanth bt D. S. Saneeth 21-15, 21-20.
Women’s singles: Quarterfinals: Ashmita Chaliha bt Isharani Baruah 21-10, 21-23, 21-16; Akarshi Kashyap bt Devika Sihag 11-21, 21-13, 21-14.
Pre-quarterfinals: Ashmita bt Radhika Sharma 21-6, 21-14; Anupama Upadhyaya bt Taneesha Singh 21-13, 21-11; Shriyanshi Valishetty bt Anura Prabhudesai 21-9, 21-13; Ira Sharma bt Meghana Reddy 21-19, 16-21, 21-16; Adita Rao bt Shruti Mundada 21-17, 21-18; Aakarshi bt Purva Barve 11-21, 21-13, 21-14.