Sankar Muthuswamy, a step closer to title

Sankar Muthuswamy (TN) reached the men's singles final of the 77th South Zone inter-State badminton championship without having to work hard as Ayush Shetty (Ktk) retired midway through the first set. He will face P. Saahas Kumar of Telangana

Strong contender Sankar Muthuswamy of Tamil Nadu reached the men’s singles final without having to work hard as Ayush Shetty of Karnataka retired midway through the first set (11-8) in the 77th South Zone inter-State badminton (individual) championship at the RAK’s Badminton Academy courts here on August 13.

Shankar was made to wait on court for close to 15 minutes as Shetty took his own sweet time to reach the venue. But, when the battle began, the former played to his strengths to race to a 11-8 lead. At this juncture, Shetty, who looked a shade below his best, threw in the towel.

Sankar will now take on P. Saahas Kumar of Telangana, who got the better of T. Sidarth of Tamil Nadu 21-16, 21-7.

Men: Semifinals: Sankar Muthuswamy (T.N.) bt Ayush Shetty (Ktk) 11-8 (retd.); P. Saahas Kumar (T.S.) bt T. Sidarth (T.N.) 21-16, 21-7. Quarterfinals: P. Saahas Kumar (T.S.) bt S. Bhargav 12-21,23-21, 21-18; T. Siddarth (T.N.) bt N. Nagi Reddy (A.P.) 21-15, 21-16; Sankar Muthuswamy (T.N.) bt M. Nandivardhan (A.P.) 21-3, 21-8; Ayush Shetty (Ktk) bt Govind Krishna Iyer.

Women: Semifinals: Shriyanshi Valishetty bt R. Jananikaa (Py) 21-16, 21-9; N. Jahnavi (A.P.) bt Vijetha Harish (Ktk) 22-20, 17-13 (retd.). Quarterfinals: V. Shreyanshi (T.S.) bt Farza Nazrin (Ker) 21-17, 21-11; R. Jananikaa (Py) bt Gloria V. Athavale (Ktk) 21-14, 21-16; N. Jahnavi (A.P.) bt Akshaya Arumugam (T.N.) 21-18, 21-14; Vijetha Harish (Ktk) bt S.K. Andrea (Ker) 23-21, 21-15, 21-19.

Boys: U-19: Quarterfinals: Anish Raj (T.N.) bt Abhinav Garg (Ktk) 21-16, 21-18; Harshit Tummala (T.S.) bt Nak Komal (A.P.) 21-11, 21-6; S. Abhishek (Ker) bt Araffath Kumaran (Py) 21-17, 21-9.

Girls: Muskaan Khan (Ktk) bt S.K. Andrea 15-21, 21-14; 25-23; Rishitha Pandey (T.S.) bt Akshitha (Py) 21-8, 19-21, 21-18; Farza Nazrin bt Jade Anil (Ktk) 17-21, 25-23, 21-19; Prasansha Bonam (T.S.) bt B. Prakriti (T.N.) 21-14, 19-21, 21-16.