Arundhati, Thulasi making mark as a pair at All India Badminton tournament

NAGPUR: It seems the beginning of the new year is time for some experiments.
Arundhati Pantawane and PC Thulasi are known in the badminton world for their exploits on the court in the women's singles.
But in the ongoing Radhey Shaym Gupta Memorial All India Senior Ranking Badminton tournament at Bareily, the pair of Arundhati and Thulasi are making waves as a doubles pair.
The crack combination of Arundhati and Thulasi has stormed into the women’s doubles semifinals which raised eyebrows of the experts.
The unseeded pair of Arundhati and Thulasi shocked fifth seeds Shruti Mundada and Riya Pillai 21-17, 23-25, 21-18 in a fierce battle which lasted for 45 minutes. In the quarters, they upset fourth seeds Jamuna Rani and Leela Lakshmi 21-13, 21-18. The new pair, employees of ONGC, will now clash with top seeds Aparna Balan and Sanyogita Ghorpade for a spot in the final on Tuesday morning.
"I am playing doubles after more than four years. We had played together as a team here (Bareily) few years back. Our doubles entry for this tournament was sent through Gopichand Academy. We are happy with it but our main focus will be on doing well in the singles," Arundhati told TOI from Bareily.
Although, they are enjoying their recent success in the doubles, Arundhati and Thulasi might find themselves on the opposite side of the court in the singles if they win their respective singles on Tuesday.
Top seed Arundhati ousted No. 8 seed Mudra Dhainje 21-18, 21-16 in the quarterfinal, while Thulasi prevailed over seventh seed Riya Pillai 21-12, 21-8. Arundhati will meet Saili Rane, while Thulasi will lock horn with Tanvi Lad in the semis.
Semifinal line-up:
Women's singles: 1-Arundhati Pantawane vs 5-Saili Rane, 2-PC Thulasi vs 4-Tanvi Lad.
Men's singles: 1-Sourabh Varma vs 7-Oscar Bansal, 5-Sameer Verma vs 8-Aditya Prakash.