Guwahati Masters: Verma, Aakarshi among Indians to make pre-quarters

Sameer Verma upset third seed Kiran George, while fifth seed Aakarshi Kashyap saved a match point to beat Denmark’s Amalie Schulz as a host of Indians advanced to the pre-quarterfinals of the Guwahati Masters Super 100 here on Wednesday.

Former world number 11, Verma, who has been struggling with injuries for the last few months, prevailed over compatriot Kiran 21-13 21-13 in a second round men’s singles clash that lasted 32 minutes.

In a round one women’s singles clash, Kashyap kept her nerves after losing the opening game to beat Schulz 15-21 21-17 22-20. The match saw the Indian playing catch-up in the business end of the third game after her opponent clinched four straight points from 13-16 to take a one-point lead.

Kashyap saved a match point at 19-20 and then bagged two consecutive points to set up a clash against Chinese Taipei’s Lin Sih Yun. Also advancing to the women’s singles pre-quarterfinals are Ira Sharma and Tanya Hemanth, who defeated their more illustrious Malaysian opponents.

Ira came from a game down to beat world No. 69 Wong Ling Ching 17-21 21-17 21-12, while Tanya got the better of top Malaysian Kisona Selvaduray 21-16 15-21 21-16. Ira will now face another Malaysian Karupathevan Letshanaa, while Tanya takes on compatriot Malvika Bansod for a place in the quarterfinals.

Malvika had defeated Uganda’s Fadilah Rafi 21-10 21-10 in the earlier round. Men’s national champion Mithun Manjunath and junior world championships bronze medallist Ayush Shetty registered contrasting wins to advance to the next round.