Daijiworld Media Network - Fullerton
Fullerton, Jun 27: Indian shuttlers continued their impressive run at the US Open Super 300 tournament, with Devika Sihag, Rounak Chouhan and Kidambi Srikanth advancing to the semifinals after registering convincing victories in their respective quarterfinal matches.
Thailand Masters champion Devika Sihag produced a composed performance to upset third seed Riko Gunji of Japan 22-20, 21-19 in the women's singles quarterfinals. The Indian held her nerve during the closing stages of both games to secure a place in the last four.
In the men's singles, Rounak Chouhan continued his remarkable campaign by defeating Israel's Misha Zilberman 23-21, 21-11 in just 38 minutes. The victory earned the youngster his maiden semifinal appearance at a BWF World Tour Super 300 event.
Former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth also progressed to the semifinals after overcoming Chinese Taipei's Liao Jhuo-Fu 21-9, 12-21, 21-8. His win kept alive the possibility of an all-Indian men's singles final on Sunday.
Rounak will next face eighth seed Su Li Yang of Chinese Taipei in the semifinals, while Srikanth is set to take on Japan's fourth seed Yudai Okimoto for a place in the title clash.
Devika's next challenge will be against Denmark's second seed Line Christophersen, who defeated India's Tanvi Sharma 21-16, 11-21, 21-11 in the quarterfinals.
India's Rakshitha Sree bowed out of the women's singles after suffering a 15-21, 21-16, 21-12 defeat to Canada's Rachel Chan in the last-eight stage.
Earlier in the tournament, World Junior Championships silver medallist Tanvi Sharma and Devika had begun their campaigns with straight-game victories. Tanvi defeated Germany's Yvonne Li 23-21, 21-16, while Devika comfortably overcame Peru's Ines Lucia Castillo 21-14, 21-14 in the opening round.
Rounak had also impressed in the first round by defeating compatriot and former World Junior Championships silver medallist S. Sankar Muthusamy 23-21, 21-16 in an all-Indian contest.
Fifth seed Srikanth enjoyed a dominant start to his campaign, brushing aside fellow Indian D. Saneeth 21-14, 21-12 in just 30 minutes.
Rakshitha Sree advanced to the second round with a commanding 21-15, 21-8 win over Czech Republic's Tereza Svabikova, while the seventh-seeded mixed doubles pair of Dhruv Rawat and K. Maneesha also progressed after defeating Indonesia's Wirawan Ihsan Adam and Serena Kani 21-15, 21-16 in only 26 minutes.