Malvika, Rashi, Ritika in National Junior Badminton semis

NAGPUR: Maintaining their dazzling form, city shuttlers produced yet another impressive show to stamp their authority in the Yonex-Sunrise Junior National Badminton Championship at Lucknow on Thursday.
As many as three city youngsters stormed into the semifinals in their respective categories. Malvika Bansod entered the Under-19 girls singles semifinals with two contrasting wins in a day.
Ritika Thaker and Simran Singhi (Mumbai) sailed into the Under-19 girls doubles semifinal, while Rashi Lambe and Akshan Shetty (Mumbai) sealed the last-four berth in the Under-19 mixed doubles.
Second seed Malvika made the light work of tenth seed Drithi Yatheesh 21-17, 21-8 in 35 minutes in the quarterfinals. Southpaw Malvika will meet third seed Purva Barve of Pune for the spot in the final on Friday.
Earlier in the day, Malvika survived big scare before posting a hard-fought 19-21, 22-20, 21-16 victory against unseeded Taneesha Singh. After losing the first game narrowly, Malvika rallied back splendidly to win in an hour and ten minutes.
Top seeds Ritika and Simran dismissed sixth seeds Kavya Gandhi and Riya Sachan in straight games 21-13, 21-10 in 35 minutes.
Earlier in the pre-quarters, Ritika and Simran halted the good run of Gargi Joshi and Aruni Chauhan with a 21-13, 21-10 victory in 35 minutes.
Fifth seeds Rashi Lambe and her partner Akshan Shetty stunned second seeds Edwin Joy and Nafeesah Sara Siraj 21-19, 21-13 in 33 minutes to enter the semifinals in the mixed doubles.
The Nagpur-Mumbai duo trounced KS Murugappa and Sania Sikkandar 21-14, 21-17 earlier in the day.
However, Gaurav Mithe and Ajinkya Patharkar of Nashik went down fighting against second seeds Manjit Singh and K Dingku Sing 17-21, 14-21 in the Under-19 boys doubles pre-quarterfinals.
NAGPUR RESULTS (QFs)
U-19 girls singles: 2-Malvika Bansod bt 10-Drithi Yatheesh 21-17, 21-8.
U-19 girls doubles: 1-Ritika Thaker-Simran Singhi bt 6-Kavya Gandhi-Riya Sachan 21-13, 21-10.
U-19 mixed doubles: 5-Akshan Shetty-Rashi Lambe bt 2-Edwin Joy-Nafeesah Sara Siraj 21-19, 21-13.