Diya Chitale, Sreeja Akula (Twitter)
Sreeja and Diya moved into the final four of the event in Croatia with a 9-11, 12-10, 11-7, 5-11, 11-8 win over the Singapore pairing of Xin Ru Wong and Jian Zeng in a battle lasting little over 39 minutes
Continuing their splendid run, India’s women’s doubles pair of Diya Chitale and Sreeja Akula stormed into the semifinals of the WTT Contender with a hard-fought 3-2 win over Xin Ru Wong and Jian Zeng of Singapore on Friday.
In a battle stretched to the fullest, Sreeja and Diya lost the first game but fought back to win the next two to snatch a 2-1 lead.
ALSO READ| Football Transfer News Live Updates: Manchester United Agree Mason Mount Deal, Declan Rice to Arsenal Done?
The Singaporean duo however levelled it all before the Sreeja and Diya showed fine composure to seal it 9-11, 12-10, 11-7, 5-11, 11-8 in a battle lasting little over 39 minutes. The Indian duo will take on Suthasini Sawettabut and Orawan Paranang of Thailand in the battle for the women’s doubles summit clash.
Earlier on Thursday, India’s top-ranked woman paddler Manika Batra advanced to pre-quarterfinals beating Croatia’s Hana Arapovic 3-1.
Batra, world No. 38, came back strongly after losing the opening game, as she convincingly won the next three to seal the issue 6-11, 11-6, 11-3, 11-1 in 28 minutes.
However, the other Indian woman in the singles fray, Sutirtha Mukherjee was blanked 0-3 by South Korea’s Yang Ha Eun. Ha Eun won 11-5, 11-5, 11-6.
The day belonged to the young Indian pair of Sreeja and Diya, who entered the last-eight stage beating American pair of Chinese origin Lily Zhang and Rachel Sung in a hard-fought game affair. The Indian pair won 11-6, 8-11, 11-8, 11-9 in under 30 minutes.
ALSO READ| Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami Move No Holiday, Says Gerardo Martino
The other Indian pair of Sutirtha Mukherjee and Ayhika Mukherjee, who did well in the previous WTT event in Tunisia, were beaten 1-3 by the local pair of Ivana Malobabic and Mateja Jeger. The Croat pair won 11-8, 11-6, 8-11, 11-9.
In the men’s doubles, veteran Achanta Sharath Kamal and in-form Harmeet Desai lost 0-3 to the Chinese pair of Lin Gaoyuan and Liang Jingkun after putting up a stiff fight in the first game. The Indians lost 11-13, 5-11, 4-11. In the mixed doubles, Batra, who teamed up with G Sathiyan, lost a gruelling five-game pre-quarter-final contest to Lee Zion and Cho Seungmin of South Korea.
The Koreans won 11-9, 9-11, 10-12, 11-8, 13-11 in a match that went on for nearly 50 minutes.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
