Chandigarh, September 22, 2018: Ninth seed Maisnam Meiraba from Manipur and second seed Kiran George from Kerala recorded victories in contrasting styles in the boys under-19 singles semi-finals of the Yonex-Sunrise All India Junior Ranking Badminton Tournament 2018 at the Sector 43 Badminton Hall here today.
Showing overall supremacy Kiran George took just 24 minutes to dispose of the challenge of seventh seed Alap Mishra of Madhya Pradesh 21-13 21-13. In the second semi-final Maisnam Meiraba was made to fight for every point by qualifier Tharun M. from Telangana 21-19 12-21 21-15. Tharun had displayed his courage and determination thoughout the tournament before making his exit but left his mark by reaching semi-finals and making to the main draw through qualifying round.
Giant-killer sixth seed Purva Barve of Air India and second seed Malvika Bansod of Maharashtra set up title clash in the girls under-19 singles. Purva Barvel, who yesterday toppled top seed Aakarshi Kashyap of AAI by 21-19, 21-19, maintained her winning streak. However she faced a stiff challenge from Kavipriya S. of Puducherry in the semi-final. Both displayed good footwork, placements and smashes before Purva managed to get the better of her plucky opponent in 60-minute tough fight by . 21-12 19-21 23-21. In the second semi-final second seed Malvika Bansod of Maharashtra defeated third seed Gayatri Gopichand Pullela from Tenangana. In a closely fought first set, Malvika just managed to win by 28-26. Having established a 1-0 lead, Malvika was more confident and second the second set and match by 21-19. The match lasted 46 minutes.
Results (semi-finals):
Mixed doubles U19: Sri Krishna Sai Kumar Podile+Srishti Jupudi[1] bt Yovan Dabas+Kavya Gandhi 18-21 21-13 21-16, S. Krishna Prasad+A. K.[6] bt Dingku Sing Konthoujam+Simran Singhi 21-19 21-19.
Girls singles U-19: Purva Barve [6] bt Kavipriya S. 21-12 19-21 23-21, Malvika Bansod [2] bt Gayatri Gopichand Pullela [3] 28-26 21-19.
Boys singles U-19: Maisnam Meiraba [9] bt Tharun M. 21-19 12-21 21-15, Kiran George [2] bt Alap Mishra [7] 21-13 21-13.
Girls doubles U-19: Aditi Bhatt+Tanisha Crasto bt Sahithi Bandi+Thanushree R.[4] 21-17 15-21 21-15, Preethi K.+Priya Devi Konjengbam[8] bt Trisha Hegde+Drithi Yatheesh 21-18 17-21 21-13,
Boys doubles U-19: Krishna Prasad G.+Dhruv Kapila [4] bt Edwin Joy+Aravind V.Suresh 21-10 21-17, F M. Khwairakpam+D. Konthoujam[2] bt Navaneeth Bokka+Sai Pavan Karri[3] 21-10 21-12.