RAIA: Anuj Vernekar, Nishant Shenai, Rahul, and Ayaan Shaikh advanced to the men’s singles semi-finals at State Major Ranking Badminton Tournament at multipurpose stadium, Navelim, Thursday.
Unseeded Anuj caused a major upset eliminating top seeded Karan Dhavaskar in the pre-quarters first. Later, he defeated Advait Balakrishnan 21-19, 23-21.
Nishant Shenai had a smooth run as he defeated Sushil Nayak 21-12, 21-12. Rahul also showcased his skills by overcoming Arjun Bhagat 19-21, 21-10, 21-8.
Second seed, Ayaan Shaikh managed to overcome Soham Khandeparkar 24-22, 21-16to move into the semis.
In women’s section, Janhavi Mahale, Shreya Mehta, Sakshi K and Ritika Chelluri made it to the semi-finals. Janhavi defeated Aadya Chaurasia 21-14, 21-9. Shreya had a tough battle against Soumya Deshpande prevailing 21-19, 21-19.
Sakshi K displayed her prowess with a dominant performance against Shivanjali Thite, winning 21-9, 21-13. Ritika Chelluri faced a challenging match against Twinkle Sullad, eventually emerging victorious 26-24, 18-21, 21-17.
Men’s doubles: Arjun Fallary and Tejan Fallary bt Pankaj Naik and Sunny Sawant 21-13, 21-14;
Aryaman Saraf and Yash Halarnkar bt Aditya Desai and Prasad Patil 21-13, 21-13; Parag Chauhan and Sushil Nayak bt Amit Kakkar and Krishnanad Vernekar 21-13, 23-21; Floyd Araujo and Frederick Fernandes bt Darwin Barreto and Dattaprasad Parab 20-22, 21-14, 21-1 .
Mixed doubles: Tejan Fallary and Lydia Barreto bt Mahesh Parab and Anjali Das 21-5, 21-6; Frederick Fernandes and Yasmine Sayed bt Mrunal Bhatkande and Minoshka Pereira 21-17, 23-21;Sushil Nayak and Aahana Nayak bt Floyd Araujo and Malika Lobo 21-8, 17-21, 21-14; Aryaman Saraf and Nidhi Desai bt Sahil Sayed and Salouni Naik 21-14, 21-7.
