PSA Challenger Tour: Rahul Baitha ousts No. 2 Aadit Zaveri in quarter-finals

For the second time, sixth-seeded Rahul Bathia of JSW Academy, Thane tamed Aadit Zaveri 10-12, 12-10, 4-11, 11-3, 11-6 which lasted 49 minutes in the men’s quarter-finals.

Second-seeded Aadit Zaveri of Mumbai became the only seeded player who failed to reach the semifinals of the HCL-SRFI Indian Tour–Delhi leg, a PSA Challenger Tour, at Shiv Nadar University on Sunday.

For the second time, sixth-seeded Rahul Bathia of JSW Academy, Thane tamed Aadit 10-12, 12-10, 4-11, 11-3, 11-6 which lasted 49 minutes in the men’s quarterfinals. In the Chennai leg held last week, the same rivals met in the last-eight stage and the result was the same.

“This time it was a tight match for me. After I lost the third set, I was down but I told myself that I wanted to win the tournament and not just this match. I motivated myself to win the next two. I will be facing Velavan (Senthilkuamr who won the Chennai leg) in the semifinals and I know it will not be easy for me but I will play better,” Rahul told indianexpress.com after the match.

Velavan, seeded No. 3, thrashed Navneeth Prabhu 11-1, 11-8, 11-0 in 26 minutes while No.1 and No. 4 seeds Abhishek Agarwal and Abhishek Pradhan completed the semifinal lineup in the men’s category.

Fifth-seeded Sandeep Ramachandran stretched Agarwal even though the No. 1 won in straight sets 11-2, 13-11, 11-2 but it took 44 minutes to finish. However, Pradhan faced little trouble as he scored an easy 11-4, 11-7, 11-6 win over Jaideep Sethi in 18 minutes.

Sunayna Kuruvilla and Tanvi Khanna, the top two seeds in the women’s, entered the semifinals without much fuss with straight wins over teen rivals unseeded Anahat Singh of Delhi and 9-16 seed Akshaya Sri of Chennai, respectively and in quick time too.

Third seed Urwashi Joshi survived anxious moments against another teen from Chennai, sixth seed Abhisheka Shannon 12-10, 6-11, 12-10, 11-7 which took 28 minutes.

The last women’s quarterfinal match between 9-16 seeds Tiana Parasrampuria and Anjali Semwal, both from Mumbai, the latter won a five-setter 11-9, 4-11, 11-5, 6-11, 11-7 after a 37-minute battle. On Saturday, Tiana had won a facile win over fourth-seeded Aishwarya Khubchandani but could repeat the form against her city rival.

Semifinal line-up (from 11 am)

WOMEN: 1-Sunayna Kuruvilla vs 3-Urwashi Joshi; Anjali Semwal vs 2-Tanvi Khanna; MEN: 1-Abhishek Agarwal vs 4-Abhishek Pradhan; 3-Velavan Senthilkumar vs Rahul Baitha;

Quarterfinal results

WOMEN: Anjali Semwal bt Tiana Parasrampuria 11-9, 4-11, 11-5, 6-11, 11-7; 2-Tanvi Khanna bt Akshaya Sri 11-2, 11-5, 11-8; 3-Urwashi Joshi bt 6-Abhisheka Shannon 12-10, 6-11, 12-10, 11-7 , 1-Sunayna Kuruvilla bt Anahat Singh 11-6, 11-8, 11-3.

MEN: 3-Velavan bt Navaneeth Prabhu 11-1, 11-8, 11-0; 6- Rahul Baitha bt 2-Aadit Zaveri 10-12, 12-10, 4-11, 11-3, 11-6; 1-Abhishek Agarwal bt 5-Sandeep Ramachandran 11-2, 13-11, 11-2; 4-Abhishek Pradhan bt Jaideep Sethi 11-4, 11-7, 11-6.

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