Kolkata, August 13: In an exciting display of talent, top-seeded Tanvi Khanna and fourth-seeded Suraj Kumar advanced to the semifinals of the HCL PSA Challenger Tour held in Kolkata.
Tanvi triumphed over her compatriot, sixth seed Nirupama Dubey, in a straight-game victory during the quarterfinals. She is set to face Egypt’s third seed Sohaila Hazem in the semifinals.
Meanwhile, Suraj Kumar defeated eighth seed Om Semwal in a four-game match. Recently crowned singles champion at the World University Championship, Suraj will now compete against Egypt’s top seed Mohamed Gohar in the semifinals.
Earlier, on Tuesday, Suraj had a tough battle against Egypt’s Hassan Menchawi in the men’s pre-quarterfinals, winning the match 11-4, 8-11, 11-2, 9-11, 11-8 after 73 minutes of intense play.
In another thrilling five-game match, Sandeesh Palaniwel Ravikumar made a comeback from a two-game deficit to defeat sixth seed Ayan Waziralli with scores of 6-11, 10-12, 11-5, 11-6, 11-7, securing his place in the men’s quarterfinals.
In the women’s category, top seed Tanvi Khanna also advanced to the quarterfinals after defeating Vasundhara Nangare in straight games. On Monday, in the men’s singles first round, Arihant KS overcame Switzerland’s Leandro Meinhardt with scores of 11-6, 9-11, 13-11, 11-4.
In the women’s first-round matches, Pooja Aarti Raghu made a comeback to defeat Kashvi Mangal 13-15, 11-6, 11-6, 7-11, 11-9. Another Indian player, Ananya Narayanan, won against Ahana Singh 8-11, 11-2, 11-8, 11-8, while Vasundhara Nangare defeated compatriot Janet Vidhi 11-8, 11-5, 11-5.
The tournament offers a prize pool of $9,000 for both the men’s and women’s categories. The HCL PSA Challenger Tour has previously held events in Indore, Mumbai, and Chennai, and is currently in its Kolkata phase.
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