The top four seeds in the women’s singles draw failed to advance to the semi-final round of the NSCI-hosted Yonex Sunrise-Maharashtra State Open Badminton Tournament 2024, organized by the Greater Mumbai Badminton Association (GMBA) under the auspices of Maharashtra Badminton Association (MBA).
The number seed Shivani Herlekar went down fighting to unseeded Anushka Bhise losing 29-30 in 17 minutes in an absorbing pre-quarter-final match played at the Willingdon Sports Club courts on Saturday morning.
Later in quarter-final encounters, Shravni Patil defeated second seed Shraddha Hakke in two games at 15-9, and 15-8, while third seed Manasvi Vaidya suffered a straight-game 13-15, 15-2 defeat at the hands of unseeded Devanshi Shinde. Earlier, Prisha Shah produced a strong fighting performance as she rallied from losing the first game against fourth seed Netra Jhalani and went on to clinch a satisfying 8-15, 15-7, 15-2 win and seal the semi-final spots.
In the men’s last eight matches, top seed Tanay Mehendale fought back to win 17-15, 15-11 against Mishil Shah, and second seed Shvetank Karnik prevailed over Piyush Kamble, posting a 15-11, 15-10 victory.
Teenager Harshit Mahimkar continued with his impressive showing and outclassed third seed Yash Tiwari coasting to a quick 15-7, and 15-5 win to advance to the semi-finals. Fourth seed Soham Phatak got the better of Tanay Joshi 15-11, and 15-8 to complete the semi-final line-up.
Results: Women’s sungles – Quarter-finals: Prisha Shah bt 4-Netra Jhalani 8-15, 15-7, 15-2;Anushka Bhise bt Arya Phalane 15-13, 15-4; Shravni Patil bt 2-Shraddha Hakke 15-9, 15-8; Devanshi Shinde bt 3-Manasvi Vaidya 15-13, 15-2.
Round 16: Arya Phalane bt Netra Kapdane 30-28; 4-Netra Jhalani bt Nirali Pokharna 30-29; Prisha Shah bt Ishita Agarwal 30-6; Devanshi Shinde bt Siddhi Dumbre 30-3; Anushka Bhise bt 1-Shivani Herlekar 30-29; 3-Manasvi Vaidya bt Ananya Rane 30-27; Shravni Patil bt Siddhi Solanki 30-18; 2-Shraddha Hakke bt Apurva Ghadge 30-18.
Men’s singles – Quarter-finals: 2-Shvetank Karnik bt Piyush Kamble 15-11, 15-10; 4-Soham Phatak bt Tanay Joshi 15-11, 15-8; Harshit Mahimkar bt 3-Yash Tiwari 15-7, 15-5; 1-Tanay Mehendale bt Mishil Shah 17-15, 15-11.
Round 16: 1-Tanay Mehendale bt Abhinav Singh 30-15; Tanay Joshi bt Kunjj Patel 30-12; Harshit Mahimkar bt Yash Gurav 30-24; Piyush Kamble bt Daras Nadar 30-6; 2-Shvetank Karnik bt Nikhil Chari 30-12; Mishil Shah bt Chirayu Bhobu 30-18; 4-Soham Phatak bt Krishna Agrawal 30-19; 3-Yash Tiwari bt Aryan Varma 30-16.