Mumbai, October 19, 2013: It will be an all-India affair in
the Junior Boys category while it will be the reverse of sorts in the Junior
Girls section with three Chinese making the semifinal grade at the $8,000
Reliance India Junior and Cadet Open at the NSCI Stadium here today.
In a way, the Junior Girls fare was along expected lines
with the lone Indian survivor being Sagarika Mukherjee, who was fortunate to
run against Indian Narasimha Priya. But the biggest question staring at the
Indian is can she survive the Chinese onslaught tomorrow. However,
Suthirtha’s brave effort on the day was not enough to stop the Chinese
juggernaut.
Nevertheless, the losses suffered by the girls were made up
by the domination of hosts' Junior Boys. Utkarsh Gupta had to bring out all his
experience to the fore to outwit his higher ranked rival Arjun Ghosh 4-2 in a
thrilling quarterfinal duel in the Junior Boys section at the He will take on a
rampaging Sudhanshu Grover, who disposed of Birdie Boro in straight games, in
the semifinals tomorrow. In the other semifinal, Abhishek Yadav, who
outclassed Yuhao Wang (CHN) 4-0 (12-10, 11-4, 11-8, 11-9) will clash with
Lalrin Puia.
Except for the Utkarsh-Arjun encounter, the other
quarterfinals were more or less one-sided with the fancied players going
through without hiccups. Abhishek Yadav didn’t waste any time in rolling over
his Chinese rival Yuhao Wang with a 4-0 verdict and Lalrin Puia, with his fine
ability to wear out opponents, defeated Nishaad Shah 9-11, 11-6, 11-6, 11-5,
11-9 in a defensive match that saw long rallies and the never-say-die attitude
of the two players. Yet, it was Puia who won the day.
No. 261 ranked Utkarsh, who won 12-10, 8-11, 6-11, 11-3,
11-9, 11-8, began in right earnest to take the extended game only to lose the
next two to Arjun, ranked 189 in the world. But the Delhi boy stopped his rival on his track with
an excellent attacking game to level the score. The intensity of the fourth
game could be gauged as he used the flanks well to rattle Arjun. The cautious
and confident Utkarsh went all out, serving and returning well, to take the
next two games to book his semifinal berth.
Narasimha Priya could not take advantage of her draw as she
bowed out in the quarterfinals of the Junior Girls section, losing to Sagarika
Mukherjee, ranked 146 in the world. The West Bengal
girl won 4-2 after raising the standard in the fifth and six games. Though
Priya took the first game 11-7, she couldn’t come to terms with the pace set by
Sagarika who surged to a 2-1 lead. In the fourth, however, Priya put up her
best resistance with some excellent winners. And that was all she could do as
Sagarika turned on the heat to earn the semifinal spot.
Chinese Anqi Li accounted for Senhora D’Souza 4-1 and will
meet Sagarika Mukherjee in the first semifinal while the second semifinal will
be between Yanmei Yang and compatriot Xiaotong Sun, who beat Indian Mallika
Bhandarkar 4-1.
Results:
Junior Boys: Quarterfinals: Sudhanshu Grover bt Birdie
Boro 4-0 (11-5, 11-6, 11-5, 12-10), Utkarsh Gupta bt Arjun Ghosh 4-2 (12-10, 8-11,
6-11, 11-3, 11-9, 11-8), Abhishek Yadav bt Yuhao Wang (CHN) 4-0 (12-10, 11-4,
11-8, 11-9, Lalrin Puia bt Nishaad Shah 4-1 (9-11, 11-6, 11-6, 11-5, 11-9).
Junior Girls: Quarterfinals: Anqi Li (CHN) bt Senhora
D’Souza 4-1 (9-11, 11-6, 11-3, 11-7, 11-5), Sagarika Mukherjee bt Narasimha
Priya 4-2 (7-11, 11-5, 11-7, 7-11, 11-8, 11-5), Yanmei Yang (CHN) bt Mallika
Bhandarkar 4-2 (11-5, 11-6, 9-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-2), Xiaotong Sun (CHN) bt Suthirtha
Mukherjee 4-2 (10-12, 11-8, 6-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-4).
Cadet Boys: Quarterfinals: Anirban Ghosh bt Ayush Tayal
3-2 (8-11, 11-5, 8-11, 12-10, 11-7), Birdie Boro bt Beizeng Wang (CHN) 3-1
(7-11, 11-8, 17-15, 11-6), Arjun Ghosh bt Huabing He (CHN) 3-1 (11-8, 14-12,
7-11, 11-9), Yuhao Wang (CHN) bt Lalhunhlua 3-0 (11-3, 11-7, 11-4).
Doubles: QF: Lalhunhlua/Lalrin Puia bt Salah
Al-Balooshi/Abdulla Albalooshi (UAE) 3-1, Beizeng Wang/Yuhao Wang (CHN) bt Sail
Alfalasi (UA)/Shaurya Pednekar 3-0, Arjun Ghosh/Ayush Tayal bt Hammed Osibanjo
(NGR)/Siddesh Mukund 3-0.
Cadet Girls: Quarterfinals: Sagarika Mukherjee bt
Aishwarya Pathak 3-1 (13-11, 13-11, 6-11, 11-3), Srushti Haleangadi bt Moumita
Dutta 3-1 (11-9, 4-11, 11-9, 11-9), CR Harshavardhani bt Ashlesha Trehan 3-1
(11-6, 11-8, 8-11, 11-8), Sreeja Akula bt Shruti Amrute 3-0 (11-4, 11-6, 11-3).
Doubles: QF: Shruti Amrute/Naina bt Srushti
Haleangadi/Dyuti Patki 3-2; Desiree Hung (HKG)/Aishwarya Pathak bt Mansi
Chhajed/Ashelesha Trehan 3-2.
A TTFI Press release
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