KATHMANDU, Dec 16: Nepal's challenge in the ongoing BWF Yonex Sunrise International Series 2016 badminton tournament ended in quarterfinal after none of the Nepali players including medal hopeful Tamang siblings Ratnajit and Nangsal lost their last eight matches on Thursday.
Ratnajit, who competed in three different events - men's singles', men's doubles and mixed doubles-on Thursday, lost all the matches.
In the quarterfinal match of men's singles at Dasharath Stadium covered hall, Tripureshwar, Ratnajit faced straight sets defeat of 21-17, 21-18 against Indian opponent Siddharath Thakur. It was the third defeat for Nepal's number one at the hands of Siddharath. Ratnajit was defeated in Tata Open India International Challenge and Syed Modi International Badminton Championship by same player few years back in India.
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In the men's doubles, Ratnajit paired with Dipesh Dhami and faced defeat from Pakistani pair of Rizwan Azam and Sulehri Kashif Ali 21-16, 21-18.
Similarly the mixed doubles the pair of Ratnajit and Nangsal lost to the Indian pair of Saurabh Sharma and Anoushka Parikh 21-13, 19-21, 21-10 at the home court.
Tamang siblings had won gold in mixed doubles' event of Pakistan Series in October.
Likewise Nangsal who had already exited from women's singles' ended her journey after facing defeat in the women's doubles. The pair of Nangsal and Pooja Shrestha lost to Indian pair of Jakkampudi Meghana and Poorvisha S Ram, 21-7, 21-5.
Beside Ratnajit and Nangsal, other Nepali players including Sichhya Shrestha, Megha Chand lost their women's singles matches while the pairs of Bishnu Katwal and Amita Giri and the pair of Bijeet Thapa Magar and Sichhya faced defeats in mixed doubles.
Likewise, the pair of Shova Gauchan and Anu Maya Rai also failed to make into semifinal after losing their last eight battles in women's doubles' event.
Two Nepali survivors in the women's singles Sichhya and Megha both lost their respective matches to the Vietnamese opponents in the quarterfinal. Sichhya lost to first seed Thuy Linh Nguyen 21-6 21-12 while Megha was defeated by Thi Phuong Thuy Tran 21-8, 21-7.
Similarly in the last eight clash of mixed doubles' event, the pair comprising of Bishnu and Amita were edged past by the Bangladeshi pair of Mohammad Salman Khan and Alina Sultana 21-12, 21-14. In the same event, the pair of Bijeet Thapa Magar and Sichhya faced the defeat at the hands of Indian pair comprising of Venkat Gaurav Prasad and Juhi Dewangan 21-8, 21-11.
In the women's doubles event, the pair of Shova and Anu was beaten by the Bangladeshi pair of Aktar Shapla and Alina Sultana 21-7, 21-13.
Meanwhile Siddharath who defeated Ratnajit will now vie against Duc Phat Le of Vietnam in the men's singles' semifinal on Friday. Duc registered the victory of 21-10, 21-11 over Tushar Krishna Roy of Bangaldesh to register his place in last four.
Another Indian participant Abhishek Yelegar also advanced to the semifinal of the same event as second seed shuttler defeated Rizwan Azam of Pakistan 21-11, 21-14. Abhishek will face Cao Cuong Pham of Vietnam who beat Bangladeshi opponent Mohammad Salman Khan 21-8, 21-5.
In the other women's singles' matches, Aghaei Hajiagha Soraya of Iran and Indonesia's Devi Yunita Indah Sari emerged victorious as they beat Pakistani opponents Palwasha Bashir and Mahoor Shahzad respectively.
Third seed Aghaei registered the victory of 21-12, 21-13 over Palwasha Bashir while Devi defeated Mahoor 21-14, 21-15. Aghaei will now vie against Thuy and Devi will face Thi in the semifinals.
Similarly in the another mixed doubles' match, Bangladeshi pair of Mohammad Anamul Haque and Aktar Shapla registered the victory of 21-15, 13-21, 21-19 over the Indian pair of Rajesh Krishnan Navaneethakrishnan and Venkata Ramya Tulasi Bailupudi. Now the pair of Mohammad and Aktar will face the Indian pair of Saurabh and Anoushka in semifinal. Likewise, another last-four clash will be between the Indian pair of Venkat and Juhi and the Bangladeshi pair of Mohammad Salman and Alina on Friday.
