New Delhi:
Delhi youngster Saksham Choudhary drove a scare into the 5/8 seed Abhishek Pradhan of Maharashtra. But, Abhishek was quick to change gears and even though he conceded the opening game, he ensured there was no further freedom for Saksham, taking the next three with ease. Similarly, in the women’s, there was expectation that the freshly crowned junior national champion Sanya Vats of Delhi would have some questions for Sachika Balvani of Maharashtra. But, Sachika withstood the pressure and carved out a fine win.
There was some interest in the Vikram Malhotra-Gaurav Nandrajog match. Gaurav grabbed the first game, but the trend halted there as the US-based Vikram, a regular on the professional circuit, reeled off the next three to make it an easy outing overall.
Results: Quarter-finals: Men:
Mahesh Mangaonkar (Mah) bt Vijay Kumar (Svc) 12-10 11-7 11-3; Abhishek Pradhan (Mah) bt Saksham Choudhary(Del) 11-13 11-5 11-6 11-4; Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu (TN) bt Vikas Mehra (TN) 11-4 11-8 9-11 11-8; Vikram Malhotra (Mah) bt Gaurav Nandrajog (Del) 8-11 11-6 11-4 11-3.
Women: Joshna Chinappa (TN) bt Tanvi Khanna (Del) 11-6 11-7 11-6; Sachika Balvani (Mah) bt Sanya Vats (Del) 11-6 13-11 11-8; Aparajitha Balamurukan (TN) bt Mayuri Namasivayam (TN) 11-4 11-4 11-1; Urwashi Joshi (Mah) bt Sanika Choudhari (Mah) 11-6 11-6 11-7.
