Tanvi Sharma Loses in Korea Masters Quarterfinals, Ashmita Chaliha Advances

Teenager Tanvi Sharma’s impressive campaign came to an end against compatriot Rakshitha Ramraj, while Ashmita Chaliha upset top seed Hina Akechi to keep India’s title hopes alive.

Tanvi Sharma’s impressive Korea Masters campaign came to an end in the quarterfinals on Friday as the 17-year-old went down 21-18, 19-21, 18-21 to fellow Indian Rakshitha Ramraj in a hard-fought contest in Asan.

Fresh from becoming the youngest-ever Taipei Open champion last week, Tanvi made a strong start by taking the opening game. However, Rakshitha responded by claiming the second before holding her nerve in a closely fought decider to maintain her unbeaten 4-0 head-to-head record against the teenager.

Tanvi Sharma breakthrough run ends, but momentum continues

Although her bid for back-to-back BWF World Tour semifinals fell short, Tanvi once again underlined her growing reputation with another strong Super 300 campaign.

The teenager reached the last eight after defeating higher-ranked opponents, including an all-Indian pre-quarterfinal victory over Shriyanshi Valishetty, 21-16, 17-21, 21-13. The run provides another confidence boost ahead of the BWF World Championships later this month.

Ashmita Chaliha stuns top seed to set up all-Indian semifinal

India’s hopes in the women’s singles now rest with Ashmita Chaliha, who produced one of the biggest upsets of the tournament by defeating top seed Hina Akechi of Japan 20-22, 21-15, 21-19.

The victory sets up an all-Indian semifinal against Rakshitha Ramraj, ensuring India will have at least one representative in the Korea Masters women’s singles final.

Mixed results for India across doubles events

India’s campaign ended in the women’s and mixed doubles competitions on Friday.

Sonali Singh and Ritika Thaker were beaten 21-15, 21-9 by seventh-seeded Japanese pair Sumire Nakade and Miyu Takahashi in the women’s doubles quarterfinals.

In the mixed doubles, sixth seeds Ishaan Bhatnagar and Shruti Mishra suffered a 21-16, 16-21, 21-13 defeat to South Korea’s Shin Tae-yang and Kim Yu Jung.

There was better news in the men’s doubles, where Pruthvi Krishnamurthy Roy and Krishna Prasad Garaga advanced to the quarterfinals after defeating South Korea’s Kim Young-hyuk and Shin Tae-yang 21-18, 21-19.