Ashmita, Rakshitha book Korea Masters semifinal showdown

ASAN (SOUTH KOREA): India's Ashmita Chaliha and Rakshitha Ramraj will square off in the women's singles semifinals of the USD 250,000 Korea Masters Super 300 badminton tournament after registering hard-fought wins in their respective quarterfinals here on Friday.

World No. 50 Ashmita produced the biggest upset of the tournament so far, shocking top seed and World No. 22 Hina Akechi of Japan 20-22 21-15 21-19 in a gripping quarterfinal at the Asan Yi Sun-sin Gymnasium.

The victory also helped the Indian avenge a defeat in their only previous meeting at the Malaysia Super 100 last year.

Rakshitha, meanwhile, came back from a game down to upset third seed and compatriot Tanvi Sharma 18-21 21-19 21-18 in a contest that lasted over an hour. It was her fourth win over Tanvi, who had claimed her maiden BWF title at Taipei Open last week.

However, India's Krishna Prasad Garaga and Pruthvi Krishnamurthy Roy crashed out after suffering a 7-21, 8-21 loss to Malaysia's Man Wei Chong and Soh Wooi Yik.

Ashmita vs Hina

In a battle between two left-handers, Hina opened up a 7-5 lead before Ashmita drew level at 7-7. The two relied on angled returns to push each other into the deep corners, but a few errors from the Indian helped the Japanese take an 11-9 advantage at the mid-game interval.

Ashmita stayed within touching distance, pulling level at 12-12 and again at 15-15 before moving ahead 17-15 and 18-16. She also earned a game point at 20-19 after Hina found the net but failed to convert it. Hina then drew level before Ashmita hit wide, allowing the Japanese to pocket the opening game with a cross-court winner.

Ashmita responded strongly after the change of ends. Locked at 7-7, she reeled off six straight points to surge to a 13-7 lead. Although Hina reduced the deficit to 14-16, the Indian remained composed, claiming five of the next six points to force the match into the decider.

The deciding game followed a similar pattern, with Ashmita racing to a 9-3 lead and carrying an 11-9 advantage into the interval. She stretched it to 18-11 before Hina mounted a spirited comeback, winning six consecutive points to narrow the gap to 17-18. Ashmita, however, held her nerve in the closing stages to seal a memorable victory.

Rakshitha vs Tanvi

Rakshitha raced to a 13-8 lead in the opening game before Tanvi mounted a remarkable comeback, reeling off eight of the next nine points to move from 8-13 to 16-14 before closing out the game.

The second game was another closely-fought affair. Rakshitha held a narrow two-point advantage at the mid-game interval and eventually earned two game points after Tanvi found the net. She squandered the first but converted the second when Tanvi sent her return wide.

The decider followed a similar pattern, with Rakshitha taking a slender two-point lead into the interval. The scores were locked at 14-14 before Tanvi faltered at the crucial stage, committing three unforced errors to hand Rakshitha a 19-16 lead.

Another errant cross-court smash gave Rakshitha four match points, and she sealed the victory when Tanvi found the net once again.