Odisha Masters: Ashwini/Tanisha moves to semis, Unnati Hooda defeats Anupama

Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto moved to the semi-finals of Odisha Masters 2023 while Tanisha Crasto/Dhruv Kapila, Unnati Hooda, and Kiran George registered wins at the JN Indoor Stadium on Friday.

In the first match of the day, Tanisha-Dhruv was up against Indonesia’s Marwan Farza-Jessica Maya Rismawardani in the Quarterfinals round of the Mixed Doubles category.

In the first set, the pair from Indonesia started aggressively and took the lead but Tanisha-Dhruv fought back bravely and brought the game to 6-6. At the interval, the Indian pair led 11-10.

Tanisha-Dhruv closed down the first set 21-16. In the second set, the Indian pair continued their momentum and led their opponents by 11-4 at the interval. They won the game 21-11 and advanced to the semifinal round.

Meanwhile, Sumeeth Reddy-Sikki Reddy went down to Denmark’s Mads Vestergaard-Christine Busch 20-22, 21-16 and 21-18. In the men’s Singles category, Ayush Shetty won his match against Subhankar Dey 21-16 and 21-14.

Kiran George registered a win over Meiraba Luwang Maisnam 21-10 and 21-16 to advance to the semifinal round, while Satish Kumar Karunakaran ousted Chirag Sen with a score of 21-10 and 21-16.

In women’s Singles, former World No. 1 Nozomi Okuhara progressed to the semifinal round with an easy 21-5 and 21-13 win over Ruzana. Unnati Hooda also won her match against Anupama Upadhyaya 16-21, 21-7, and 21-15 to make it to the Semifinals round.

In the women’s Doubles category, Rutuparna Panda-Swetaparna Panda went down Jesita Putri Miantoro-Febi Setianingrum 21-9, 21-15. In another thrilling match, the Indian pair of Ashwini-Tanisha who have been in sensational form were up against Sung Shuo Yun and Yu Chien Hui of Chinese Taipei.

The Indian duo took the first set 22-20 with Tanisha bringing out variations in her shots during long rallies and Ashwini showcasing her experience. In the second set, Ashwini-Tanisha came all guns blazing out and took an 11-7 lead at the interval. The Indian duo was aggressive in their approach as both teams were involved in long rallies. But a valiant fightback by Sung Shuo Yun and Yu Chien Hui saw them winning the set 22-20 to take the match into the decider.

In the decider, the Indian duo came all guns blazing out and took an 11-5 lead at the interval. With Ashwini and Tanisha dominating the court with their superb shots, the Indian pair extended their lead to 17-9. The duo then closed the set with a 21-14 win and secured their place in the Semifinals round.