Cuttack, Dec 11 (IANS) Unnati Hooda and Tharun Mannepalli, alongside Tanvi Sharma, Kiran George, and Anupama Upadhyaya, advanced to the singles quarterfinals as top Indian shuttlers continued their strong showing in the ongoing Odisha Masters BWF World Tour badminton tournament at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Cuttack on Thursday.

In women’s singles, top seed Hooda dominated Thailand’s Tidapron Kleebyeesun 21-7, 21-14 in just 25 minutes to book her quarterfinal spot. Joining her is Tanvi, who overcame fellow Indian Aditi Bhatt 21-18, 22-20 in a 33-minute battle.

Anmol Kharb staged an impressive comeback against Japan’s Shiori Ebihara, recovering from a 6-21 opening-game loss to take the next two games 21-8, 21-13 in 46 minutes. Upadhyaya also advanced after her opponent retired in the third game.

Tasnim Mir, who delivered a major upset on Wednesday, put up a strong fight against qualifier Nanami Someya of Japan and now prepares to take on seventh seed Tung Ciou-Tong of Chinese Taipei, who defeated India’s Aakarshi Kashyap 11-21, 21-8, 21-18 in a 66-minute contest.

In men’s singles, top seed Tharun moved into the quarterfinals with a 21-16, 12-21, 21-11 win over Govind Krishna in 48 minutes and will next face Indonesia’s Muhamad Yusuf. Indonesia’s Richie Duta Richardo caused an upset by defeating fourth seed Priyanshu Rajawat 21-12, 21-10. George advanced with a 21-12, 21-18 win over Dendi Triansyah and will take on eighth seed Rithvik Sanjeevi in an all-Indian quarterfinal. Rounak Chouhan and S. Sankar Muthusamy also progressed to the last eight.

In doubles, World Junior Team Championships medallists Bhargav Ram Arigela and Viswa Tej Gobburu outplayed Nithin H.V. and Venkata Harsha Veeramreddy 18-21, 24-22, 21-17 to secure a quarterfinal berth. Fourth-seeded men’s doubles pair Pruthvi Krishnamurthy and Sai Pratheek, along with women’s doubles combinations Kavipriya Selvam/Simran Singhi and Ashwini Bhat/Shikha Gautam, also advanced.

In mixed doubles, fourth seeds Ashith Surya and Amrutha Pramuthesh survived a challenge from Nitin Kumar and Ritika Thaker, winning 17-21, 21-13, 21-19 to enter the quarterfinals. Sathwik Reddy and Reshika Uthayasooryan also advanced with a confident 21-19, 21-12 victory over Par Tien Ann and Juliana Zefanya Gabriela in 28 minutes.

–IANS

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