Malvika, Ritika-Simran in semis of All India sub-junior badminton

NAGPUR: Malvika Bansod hogged the limelight on the penultimate day of the All India Sub-Junior Ranking Badminton tournament at the Pullela Gopichand Academy in Hyderabad on Friday.
The talented southpaw caused two major upsets to strom into the U-15 girls singles semifinals. The 13-year-old first stunned second seed Unnati Bisht of Uttarakhand 17-21, 21-18, 21-14 in 50 minutes. Later in the evening, No. 12 seed Malvika accounted for eighth seed Deyashi Kanjibillya of Jharkhand 18-21, 21-15, 21-14 in 40 minutes to book her place in the last four.
In both the matches on Friday, Malvika, a student of Centre Point School, Dabha, had lost the first game but fought back remarkably well to clinch the issue in her favour.
Malvika will now take on sixth seed Vaishnavi Reddy Jakka of Hyderabad for a spot in the final on Saturday morning.
It was a mixed day for another promising city shuttler Ritika Thaker. The 14-year-old lost in the U-15 girls singles but she along with her Mumbai Suburban partner Simran Singhi sailed into the U-15 girls doubles semifinals.
Fourth seed Ritika, a student of CPS, Katol Road, went down fighting against sixth seed Vaishnavi Reddy Jakka in three games in an exciting U-15 girls singles quarterfinal.
However, the top seeded pair of Ritika and Simran rallied back splendidly to oust Shruti Mishra-Amolika Singh 16-21, 21-10, 21-12 to reach the semis, where they will clash with No. 8 seed A Akshita and Himanshi Rawat.
Finals will be played on Saturday evening.
RESULTS
U-15 girls singles (pre-quarters): 12-Malvika Bansod bt 2-Unnati Bisht 17-21, 21-18, 21-14; 4-Ritika Thaker bt 14-M Nivetha 21-13, 11-21, 21-12. U-15 girls singles (quarters): 12-Malvika Bansod bt 8-Deyashi Kanjibillya 18-21, 21-15, 21-14; 4-Ritika Thaker lost to 6-Vaishnavi Reddy Jakka 23-21, 19-21, 18-21. U-15 girls doubles (pre-quarters): 1-Ritika Thaker-Simran Singhi bt Malvika Bansod-Kirthana Thambidurai 13-21, 21-8, 21-17. U-15 girls doubles (quarters): 1-Ritika Thaker-Simran Singhi bt Shruti Mishra-Amolika Singh 16-21, 21-10, 21-12.