Third-seed Parupalli Kashyap kept India's challenge alive in men's singles outslugging unseeded Indonesian Tommy Sugiarto 18-21, 21-17, 21-18 in a marathon quarterfinal lasting 78 minutes in the India Open Grand Prix badminton championship at KVBR Stadium here on Friday.
In women's singles the focus shifted to 15-year-old Pusarla Venkata Sindhu, who now remains the lone challenger for the host with a more fluent 21-10, 21-15 win over country-mate Anita Ohlan in the quarterfinals.
Playing the last match of the day, 24-year-old Kashyap was clearly the star attraction after the unseeded Avihingsanon Suppanyu of Thailand continued his dream run by knocking out seventh-seed Arvind Bhat 21-18, 21-18 in another quarterfinal in the afternoon.
Aggressive combination
To Kashyap's surprise his opponent came up with an impressive combination of big smashes and a delectable net game. Pushing Kashyap to the baseline in the first game, Sugiarto was in a better position to place his drops and cross-court smashes to perfection.
Kashyap adopted the same strategy in the second game to level the scores and take the issue into the decider. It was anybody's game as there was little to choose with the lead changing ends frequently.
Sugiarto, without any coach to guide him, was in no mood to give up and came up with a typical Indonesian flair. Kashyap, with both coaches Bhaskar Babu and Pullela Gopi Chand at his disposal, scored the big points when it mattered most.
“It was a really tough match and I am happy with the end-result,” said Kashyap, who now has a 2-2 head-to-head record with Sugiarto.
Hesitant start
Top-seed Rumbaka Hayom Dionysius of Indonesia overcame a hesitant start to down India's Aditya Elango 21-13, 21-8. When Aditya took a 4-0 and 6-4 lead in the first game, there were hopes of a surprise performance. But, they soon faded with the Indonesian finding his groove.
Fourth-seed Yunus Alamsyah of Indonesia disposed off the challenge of the unseeded Yuekun Chen of China 21-18, 21-13 to enter the last four stage. In the mixed doubles quarter-final, unseeded Kona Tarun and Ashwini Ponnappa of India surprised their teammates and second-seeded pair of Arun Vishnu and Aparna Balan with a 21-16, 21-17 win.
The results (all quarterfinals): Men: Singles: Yunus Alamysah (Ina) bt Yuekun Chen (Chn) 21-18, 21-13; Avihingsanon Suppanyu (Tha) bt Arvind Bhat (Ind) 21-18, 21-18; Rumbaka Hayom Dionysius (Ina) bt Aditya Elango (Ind) 21-13, 21-8; P. Kashyap (Ind) bt Tommy Sugiarto (Ina) 18-21, 21-17, 21-18.
Doubles: Saputra Hendri Kurniawan & Chayut Triyachart (Sin) bt B. Sai Praneeth & K. Nandagopal (Ind) 21-14, 21-8; Gan Teik Chai & Tan Shen Bin (Mas) bt H.S. Prannoy & B. Sumeeth Reddy (Ind) 21-12, 21-8; Rahmanto Agripinna Prima Putra & Suwardi Ricky Karanda (Ind) bt Kurniawan Fernando & Nugroho Hendra Setyo (Ina) 21-19, 21-17; Ahsan Mohammad & Septano Bona (Ina) bt Riyadi Joko & Yoga Ukikasah (Ina) 21-9, 21-14.
Women: Singles: P.V. Sindhu (Ind) bt Anita Ohlan (Ind) 21-10, 21-15; Ratnasari Fransiska (Ina) bt Rawinda Prajongjai (Tha) 21-12, 21-13; Ana Rovita (Ina) bt Neha Pandit (Ind) 21-10, 21-9; Hui Zhou (Chn) bt Belaetrix Manuputi (Ina) 22-24, 21-13, 21-13.
Doubles: Huan Xia & Tang Jinhua (Chn) bt Ristiyani Imawan Gebby & Rosaila Tiara Nuraidah (Ina) 21-13, 21-10; Haris Destiara Della & Rizky Suci Andini (Ina) bt Kalitha Anjali & Dhanya Nair (Ind) 21-12, 21-11; Ng Hui Ern & Ng Lin Hui (Mas) bt Gozali Jenna & Lejarsar Putri Aprilsasi (Ina) 21-15, 21-19; Agustin Feinya Anneke & Wahyuni Annisa (Ina) bt Amitapai Savitree & Nessara Somsri (Ina) 21-16, 21-18.
Mixed doubles: Triyachart Chayut & Neo Vanessa Yu Yan (Sin) bt Pranav Chopra & Prajakta Sawant (Ind) 21-13, 21-15; Kona Tarun & Ashwini Ponappa (Ind) bt Arun Vishnu & Aparna Balan (Ind) 21-16, 21-17; Gan Teik Chai & Ng Lin Hui (Mas) bt Fitriawan Lahardi Devin & Irawati Puspa Shendy (Ina) 21-8, 23-21; Peixuan Liu & Tang Jinhua (Chn) bt Irfan Fadhilah & Weni Anggraini (Ina) 21-13, 21-13.
