The singles events where India was not expected to win many medals will now see three Indians in the men’s semifinals and two in women’s on Sunday. That will add up to five medals.
The two foreigners in the men singles quarterfinals on Saturday were Feng Chen of Singapore and Gavin Rumgay of England while in the women’s, it was Zhou Yihan, Lin Ye (both of Singapore) and Ho Tin-Tin (England).
Two of the best last-eight clashes in the men’s draw were the ones involving No.4 seed Harmeet Desai and Sanil Shetty, and the match between third-seeded G. Sathiyan and Feng.
Harmeet squandered his chances against qualifier Sanil Shetty to go down 9-11, 4-11, 11-9, 7-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-5. After bagging a tight sixth game to level things, Sanil dismantled Harmeet from the back of the table in the decider with clinical precision.
If only Sathiyan had closed out the chances he had — at 10-8 in the first game and at 10-7 in the fourth — he would have had a different tale to tell, than the 13-11, 9-11, 11-7, 12-10, 4-11, 11-5 loss to Feng.
Second-seed Soumyajit Ghosh was in peak form, drubbing Gavin Rumgay of Scotland, without losing a game in the quarterfinals. Abhishek Yadav, who got a walkover in the first (Craig Howieson of Scotland) and second (the top-seed Li Hu of Singapore withdrew due to fever and backache) rounds, got a pasting from Amalraj in four games in the last eight clash.
The withdrawal of Hu from the singles, and subsequently from the doubles events, has helped India’s cause significantly.
This appears to be a golden opportunity for India to win the men’s singles gold. After Sharath Kamal’s triumph in 2004, no other Indian has bagged the title.
Later in the day, G. Sathiyan and Ankita Das duo bagged the mixed doubles gold with a 11-7, 8-11, 15-13, 11-7 win over Soumyajit Ghosh and Mouma Das.
The results: Quarterfinals: Men: Soumyajit Ghosh bt Gavin Rumgay (Sco) 11-4, 11-8, 11-6, 12-10; G. Sathiyan bt Chen Feng (Sin) 13-11, 9-11, 11-7, 12-10, 4-11, 11-5; A. Amalraj bt Abhishek Yadav 11-4, 11-4, 11-4, 11-2; Sanil Shetty bt Harmeet Desai 9-11, 4-11, 11-9, 7-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-5. The semifinal line-up: Amalraj vs Sanil; Feng vs Ghosh.
Women: Manika Batra bt Ho Tin-Tin (Eng) 11-6, 11-6, 2-11, 11-7, 11-2; Mouma Das bt Pooja Sahasrabuddhe 11-6, 8-11, 11-7, 13-11, 8-11, 10-12, 11-8; Lin Ye bt Ankita Das 9-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-6, 11-8; Zhou Yihan (Sin) bt K. Shamini 11-13, 11-8, 6-11, 11-8, 11-2, 11-7. The semifinal line-up: Manika Batra vs Zhou Yihan; Mouma Das vs Lin Ye.
Mixed doubles final: G. Sathiyan & Ankita Das bt Soumyajit Ghosh & Mouma Das 11-7, 8-11, 15-13, 11-7. Semifinals: G. Sathiyan & Anita Das bt Sanil Shetty & Manika Batra 11-2, 13-11, 7-11, 11-8; Soumyajit Ghosh & Mouma Das w/o Li Hu & Zhou Yihan.
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