New Delhi: India’s Ashmita Chaliha and Rakshitha Ramraj have advanced to the women’s singles semifinals of the USD 250,000 Korea Masters Super 300 after producing impressive comeback victories in their quarterfinal matches.
Chaliha delivered the biggest upset of the tournament by defeating top seed and world No. 22 Hina Akechi of Japan 20 22, 21 15, 21 19 in a tense contest at the Asan Yi Sun sin Gymnasium.
The victory also allowed Chaliha to settle the score against Akechi after losing their only previous meeting at the Malaysia Super 100 last year.
Chaliha had opportunities to take the opening game after recovering from an early deficit, but Akechi held her nerve in the closing exchanges to move ahead. The Indian responded strongly in the second game, building a commanding 13 7 lead before forcing a decider.
The final game remained closely contested. Chaliha established an 11 9 lead at the interval and later moved 18 11 ahead. Akechi mounted a remarkable fightback by winning six points in succession, but Chaliha remained composed and secured the match in the final stages.
Rakshitha Ramraj also produced a determined performance to defeat third seed and compatriot Tanvi Sharma 18 21, 21 19, 21 18 in a match lasting more than an hour.
Rakshitha started strongly and led 13 8 in the opening game, but Tanvi responded with eight of the next nine points before taking control. Rakshitha then fought back in the second game, maintaining a narrow advantage and forcing a decider.
The final game was again tightly contested, with both players level at 14 14. Rakshitha took advantage of a series of errors from Tanvi to move ahead and eventually secured the victory after earning multiple match points.
The result marked Rakshitha’s fourth career win over Tanvi, who had recently claimed her maiden BWF title at the Taipei Open.
The semifinal between Chaliha and Rakshitha guarantees India a place in the Korea Masters women’s singles final.
India’s Krishna Prasad Garaga and Pruthvi Krishnamurthy Roy, however, exited the tournament after suffering a 7 21, 8 21 defeat to Malaysia’s Man Wei Chong and Soh Wooi Yik in the men’s doubles quarterfinals.
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