Fifth seeded Poojashree Venkatesha beat compatriot Sheethal Goutham to enter the singles semifinals of the Emar MGF-ITF women's circuit tournament.
In the quarterfinal matches played at the JMTA Complex here on Thursday Poojashree got the better of seasoned Sheethal in straight sets.
Poojashree will take on second seeded Mari Tanaka of Japan, who beat compatriot Yumi Miyazaki to reach the semifinals.
Top seeded Dalila Jakupovic of Slovakia tamed sixth-seeded compatriot Anja Prislan in the other quarterfinal to set up a semifinal clash with unseeded Hua-Chen Lee of Chinese Taipei. Lee beat promising junior Sharmada Balu of India.
The Indian interest in the doubles final will be carried by Poojashree and Ankita Rain, who teamed up to dismiss the fourth seeded combination of Khristina Kazimova (Ukrain) and Anastasiya Prenko (Turkmenistan) in the semifinals. The Indian pair will take on the top-seeded Nicole Clerico (Italy) and Dalila Jakupovic in the title clash on Friday.
The results:
Women's singles (quarterfinals): Dalila Jakupovic (Slo) bt Anja Prislan (Slo) 6-3, 6-2; Hua-Chen Lee (Tpe) bt Sharmada Balu (Ind) 7-5, 6-0; Poojashree Venkatesha (Ind) bt Sheethal Goutham (Ind) 6-1, 6-3; Mari Tanaka (Jpn) bt Yumi Miyazaki (Jpn) 6-3, 6-2. Doubles (semifinals): Nicole Clerico (Ita) & Dalila Jakupovic (Slo) bt Hua-Chen Lee (Tpe) & yang Pang (Chn) 6-1, 7-6(7-4); Ankita Raina & Poojashree Venkatesha (Ind) bt Khristina Kazimova (Ukr) & Anastasiya Prenko (Tkm) 6-0, 6-2.
