Priyanshu Rajawat and Kiran George emerged as the new front-runners for the men’s singles title after being the unlikely semifinalists in the $75,000 Odisha Open badminton tournament in Cuttack on Friday.
If Priyanshu exploited Mithun Manjunath’s on-court endurance, Kiran George knocked out the last seeded player, third-ranked Subhankhar Dey.
In the women’s section, Smit Toshniwal overcame a poor start to pack off USA’s Ishika Jaiswal, the last overseas challenger. She will be up against fifth seed Ashmita Chaliha.
The results (quarterfinals): Men: Kaushal Dharmamer bt Abhyansh Singh 14-21, 21-18, 21-18; Priyanshu Rajawat bt Mithun Manjunath 13-21, 21-14, 21-8; Kiran George bt Subhankar Dey 21-16, 10-21, 21-19; Ansal Yadav bt Tharun Mannepalli 21-15, 23-21.
Women: Smit Toshniwal bt Ishika Jaiswal (USA) 8-21, 21-19, 21-14; Ashmita Chaliha bt Rhucha Sawant 21-17, 21-15; Unnati Hooda bt Samiya Imad Farooqui 21-10, 21-15; Malvika Bansod bt Tanya Hemanth 21-13, 16-21, 21-17.
