Maharashtra Junior Badminton: Prisha Shah Cruises Into Quarters

Prisha Shah, the top seed in the girls singles under-17 draw played true to form as she booked her place in the quarter-finals of the Yonex-Sunrise Bombay Gymkhana Maharashtra Junior Badminton Tournament with a comfortable 15-4, 15-7 victory over Suhani Bansal at the Bombay Gymkhana here on Friday.

Placed in the top half of the draw, Shah will now face Rudra Gawde in the quarter-finals tomorrow morning. Gawde staved off a determined first game challenge from Yuvika Bajaj before closing out the match 15-12, 15-6.

Top seed Madhav Kamath of Pune (boys singles under-17) was forced to withdraw from the tournament ahead of his scheduled second round match in the afternoon after his mother informed the organizers that he was unwell and unable to continue.

Meanwhile, in the mixed doubles under-17 section, Aditya Padwal & Akshara Biradar secured their place in the semi-finals after they overcame the gritty challenge of Arjun Jadhav & Tanvi Mohite 21-18, 21-12 in the first quarterfinal - the opening match of the day.

Joining them in the last four were Vaibhav Pardeshi & Purwa Patil, who encountered little resistance from Sahaj Kadam & Sarathaa Devi Chidambaram, easing through in straight games 21-11, 21-11.

Not having featured in the tournament so far after receiving first round byes, the top seed pair of Aryan Pednekar and Gargi Dabholkar, along with the combination of Om Dalvi & Soumya Kumar will complete the semi-final line-up in the mixed doubles under-17 section

Earlier in the morning session, proceedings in the boys singles under-19 round of 32 matches generated little excitement as majority of the matches were one-sided.

However, things were much different for Hrugved Bhosale and Mayuresh Sonawane, who ensured their progress in identical manner, coming through hard-fought matches that went the distance.

The tournament is being organized under the auspices of the Greater Mumbai Badminton Association (GMBA) and the Maharashtra Badminton Association (MBA).