All India Sub-Junior Badminton: Fine run of Nikkita, Aditi ends in semifinals

NAGPUR: The brilliant run of

Nikkita Joseph

and

Aditi Sadhankar

came to an end in the semifinals of the All India Sub-Junior (U-13 and U-15) Ranking Badminton tournament at Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday.

Both the city shuttlers did well to reach the penultimate round in their respective categories but failed to cross the semis hurdle.

Fifth seed Nikkita Joseph started the day on a rousing note by ousting Devika Sihag 21-15, 22-20 in the U-13 girls singles quarterfinal. Nikkita, a student of Modern School, Koradi, overcame a late fightback from Haryana’s Devika before registering win in 27 minutes.

In the U-13 girls doubles too, third seeds Nikkita and Amya Avlani (Mumbai) registered a straight-game 21-17, 21-17 win over Madhya Pradesh duo of Paridhi Chaudhari and Gauri Chitte.

Aditi Sadhankar and Riya Habbu (Pune) caused a major upset when they knocked out fourth seeds KM Sivapriya and P Shwetaa of Tamil Nadu 23-21, 21-18 in the U-15 girls doubles quarters.

However, Nikkita and Aditi, a student of Centre Point School, Dabha, failed to carry the momentum in the semifinals held in the evening.

In the U-13 girls singles, 12-year-old Nikkita went down fighting against third seed

Anya Chauhan

of Uttarakhand 7-21, 21-12, 17-21.

Top seeds Anya and Hiral Chouhan proved too strong for Nikkita and Manya in the U-13 girls doubles semis and lost 19-21, 17-21.

Unseeded Aditi and Riya failed to rise to the occasion and lost against second seeds

Kriti Bharadwaj

and Tanya Hemanth (Karnataka) 11-21, 8-21 in the U-15 girls doubles semis.

RESULTS

(Quarterfinals)

U-13 girls singles: 5-Nikkita Joseph bt Devika Sihag 21-15, 22-20.

U-13 girls doubles: 3-Nikkita Joseph-Manya Avlani bt Paridhi Chaudhari-Gauri Chitte 21-17, 21-17.

U-15 girls doubles: Aditi Sadhankar-Riya Habbu bt 4-KM Sivapriya-P Shwetaa 23-21, 21-18.

(Semifinals)

U-13 girls singles: 5-Nikkita Joseph lost to 3-Anya Chauhan 7-21, 21-12, 17-21.

U-13 girls doubles: 3-Nikkita Joseph-Manya Avlani lost to 1-Anya Chauhan-Hiral Chouhan 19-21, 17-21.

U-15 girls doubles: Aditi Sadhankar-Riya Habbu lost to 2-Kriti Bharadwaj-Tanya Hemanth 11-21, 8-21.