India secured their quarterfinal berth at the Badminton Asia Junior Mixed Team Championships with a commanding 2-0 (55-31, 55-21) victory over Kazakhstan in their Group C opener in Yatsushiro, Japan, on Saturday.
Dominant Doubles Start
The girls' doubles pairing of Durga Esha Kandrapu and Keerthy Manchala gave India a strong start, defeating Alissa Kuleshova and Diana Namenova 11-5. In the mixed doubles, Puneeth Suresh and Deepti Raj Aditi faced a tough challenge from Mustafa Malikzhan and Kuleshova but edged out an 11-10 win, taking the overall score to 22-15. India then dominated the remaining three categories in the first set.
Cakewalk in Second Set
The second set proved to be a comfortable affair for India, as no Indian player conceded more than six points in any match, sealing the tie 55-21. The win sets up a crucial clash against Chinese Taipei to decide the group winner.
Other Indian Performances
Meanwhile, Thailand Masters winner Devika Sihag upset third seed Riko Gunji of Japan 22-20, 21-19 in the women's singles quarterfinals. Rounak Chouhan defeated Israel's Misha Zilberman 23-21, 21-11 in 38 minutes to reach his first BWF World Tour Super 300 men's singles semifinal. Former world number one Kidambi Srikanth beat Liao Jhuo-Fu of Chinese Taipei 21-9, 12-21, 21-8 in another quarterfinal.
Semifinal Lineups
In the semifinals, Chouhan will face eighth seed Su Li Yang of Chinese Taipei, while Srikanth takes on fourth seed Yudai Okimoto of Japan. Devika will meet second seed Line Christophersen of Denmark, who defeated India's Tanvi Sharma 21-16, 11-21, 21-11. In another quarterfinal, Rakshitha Sree lost to Canada's Rachel Chan 15-21, 21-16, 21-12.
