Yuvraj and Arnaav make the finals

Shahani goes down; Abbas Zeb stuns top seed Siow Yee Xian

Cruising ahead: Arnaav Sareen, forecourt, had the measure of Joachim Chuah Han Wen in straight games.

India’s Yuvraj Wadhwani and Arnaav Sareen entered the u-13 and u-15 boys’ finals of the Asian junior championships here on Friday.

Top seed Yuvraj beat Sze Jun Him (Hong Kong) 11-1, 11-6, 11-8, while Arnaav defeated Malaysian Joachim Chuah Han Wen 11-6, 11-7, 11-6 in the semifinals.

But later in the day, Tushar Shahani went down 11-8, 11-7, 8-11, 11-3 to Chung Yat Long (Hong Kong). A minor lapse here or there made the big difference, but the test was mostly in the forecourt.

Chung had the better of the exchanges especially towards the end of the first two games, yet Tushar rallied to clinch the third. Seemingly tired, he conceded the lead early in the fourth game and soon lost the match.

Pakistanis excel

Both Yuvraj and Arnaav will face Pakistan’s Anas Ali Shah and Mohammad Hamza Khan respectively in the final on Saturday.

Pakistani players have been playing well in the event. Abbas Zeb, an exciting prospect, caused the biggest upset on Friday when he beat the top seed Siow Yee Xian of Malaysia in the u-19 boys’ category.

Among the Indian girls, only Tiana Parasrampuria did quite well. She won the first two games versus the second seed Lee Sze Lok (Hong Kong) before going down, in the u-13 category.

The results(semifinals):Boys: U-19: Abbas Zeb (Pak) bt Siow Yee Xian (Mas) 10-12, 11-8, 4-11, 11-4, 11-6; Chung Yat Long (HK) bt Tushar Shahani 11-8, 11-7, 8-11, 11-3. U-17: Haris Qasim (Pak) bt Danial Nurhaqiem Bin Shahrul Izham (Mas) 4-11, 11-2, 6-11, 11-8, 11-9; Muhammad Amir Amirul Bin Azhar (Mas) bt Nathan Kueh Tze Bing (Mas) 12-10, 7-11, 12-10, 11-9.

U-15: Mohammad Hamza Khan (Pak) bt Andrik Lim Kai Shan (Mas) 11-6, 7-11, 11-1, 11-2; Arnaav Sareen bt Joachim Chuah Han Wen (Mas) 11-6, 11-7, 11-6. U-13: Yuvraj Wadhwani bt Sze Jun Him (HK) 11-1, 11-6, 11-8; Anas Ali Shah (Pak) bt Tam Tsz Shing (HK) 6-11, 11-9, 11-2, 11-9.

Girls: U-19: Lai Wen Li (Mas) bt Ooi Kah Yan (Mas) 11-8, 11-9, 10-12, 11-5; Chan Yiwen (Mas) bt Cheng Nga Ching (HK) 11-3, 11-4, 11-4. U-17: Chan Sin Yuk (HK) bt Fung Ching Hei (HK) 11-5, 11-5, 11-7; Jessica Keng Jia Hui (Mas) bt Sanya Vats 11-8, 7-11, 11-8, 11-7.

U-15: Aira Azman (Mas) bt Tse Yee Lam Toby (HK) 11-3, 12-10, 8-11, 11-4; Yee Xin Ying (Mas) bt Wong Po Yui Kirstie (HK) 11-2, 8-11, 11-6, 11-8. U-13: Leung Ka Huen (HK) bt Kaavya Bansal 9-11, 11-8, 11-4, 11-5; Lee Sze Lok (HK) bt Tiana Parasrampuria 10-12, 3-11, 11-7, 11-7, 15-13 .