Syed Modi International Super: Giant-killer Tanvi Sharma continued her dream run by reaching the semifinals of the Syed Modi International Super 300 badminton tournament, while it was a mixed day for the women and men top seeds as India’s Unnati Hooda registered a hard-fought win, and Jai Heng Jason Teh of Singapore was knocked out in the quarterfinals.
The 16-year-old Tanvi Sharma, who had upset former world champion Nozomi Okuhara of Japan in the earlier round, packed off Hong Kong’s Lo Sin Yan Happy in straight games 21-13, 21-19 in 38 minutes to set up a last four clash against 5th seed Hina Akechi of Japan, who upset third seed Sung Shuo Yun 21-8, 21-15 in the other quarterfinal.
In the upper half, Unnati came through in a battle of two rising stars of India as he got the better of Rakshitha Sree Santosh R. 21-15, 13-21, 21-16. She will next face Turkey’s fourth seed Neslihan Arin in the semifinals. Arin overcame the challenge of India’s Isharani Baruah 21-19, 13-21, 21-15.
The upsets didn’t stop there. Isharani Baruah produced another strong performance, taking out eighth seed Polina Buhrova of Ukraine 21-15, 21-8. Top seed Unnati Hooda moved through comfortably with a 21-15, 21-10 win over Tasnim Mir, while Rakshitha Sree battled past Devika Sihag 16-21, 21-19, 21-17.
In men’s singles, Day 3 brought more surprises as Manraj Singh defeated third seed HS Prannoy 21-15, 21-18. Mithun Manjunath edged past sixth seed Tharun Mannepalli in a 21-16, 17-21, 21-7 contest, while former champion Kidambi Srikanth cruised past Saneeth Dayanand 21-6, 21-16.
Top-seeded women’s doubles pair Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand continued their solid run, winning 21-17, 21-12 against Zenith Abbigail/Likhita Srivastava. Jolly also teamed up with Hariharan Amsakarunan to knock out second seeds Rohan Kapoor/Ruthvika Gadde 24-22, 21-15 in mixed doubles.
In men’s singles, Day 3 brought more surprises as Manraj Singh defeated third seed HS Prannoy 21-15, 21-18. Mithun Manjunath edged past sixth seed Tharun Mannepalli in a 21-16, 17-21, 21-7 contest, while former champion Kidambi Srikanth cruised past Saneeth Dayanand 21-6, 21-16.
Earlier, on Wednesday top seeds Unnati Hooda and Jason Teh led the charge each beginning their campaigns with composed straight-games wins. Former champion Kidambi Srikanth also moved into the next round, defeating compatriot Kavin Thangam 21-13, 21-10, keeping his campaign on track as he eyes another deep run in Lucknow.
