Kashyap, Sindhu reach quarters of Nationals

NEW DELHI: London Olympics quarterfinalist Parupalli Kashyap and defending champion PV Sindhu reached the last-eight stage of the 77th Senior National badminton Championship after posting contrasting wins in the men's and women's singles competition on Monday.
World number 20 Kashyap remained on course for his maiden National title following his comfortable 21-9, 21-11 victory over Suraj RN, while Sindhu, who had stunned London Olympic champion Li Xuerui in the China Masters last month, won after her opponent, 12th seed Saili Rane, retired midway at 21-7, 6-3 in the pre-quarterfinals at the Sher-e-Kashmir Indoor Stadium.
Young prodigy Shreyansh Jaiswal from Chattisgarh, who had stunned the defending champion in the second round on Sunday, continued his good run and notched up a 21-11, 21-17 win over Love Kumar of Punjab.
World number 25 Ajay Jayaram survived a scare from 11th seed Pratul Joshi before seeing him off 21-23, 21-14, 21-15 in a 50 minute match, while 14th seed RMV Gurusaidutt had an easy outing against unheralded Subhankar Dey, winning it 21-12, 21-4.
Sixth seed Nanda Gopal K of Airport Authority of India beat two-time champion and 16th seed Arvind Bhat 23-21, 21-19, while Madhya Pradesh's Abhimanyu Singh stunned third seed Mohit Kamat 19-21, 21-13, 21-9 in 56 minutes.
Second seed Sai Praneeth B also kept his hopes alive after prevailing over Velavan V 21-17, 21-13, while two-time former champion Anup Sridhar lost 15-21, 15-21 to eight seed Srikanth K.
In the women's singles, top seed Neha Pandit survived a tough test against 16th seed Arathi Sara Sunil of Kerela before prevailing 16-21, 21-14, 21-14, while National Games champion Arundhati Pantawane also reached the quarterfinals following a 21-11, 21-8 victory over Sheshadri Sanyal of West Bengal in 26 minutes.
Among others, 13th seed Railway's Anita Ohlan defeated fifth seed Mohita Sahdev of Airport Authority of India 21-19, 21-15, while former champion and 11th seed Trupti Murgunde set up a quarterfinal clash with ninth seed Tanvi Lad of Air India after winning 21-13, 21-8 against Sneha Santhilal in 25 minutes.
Tanvi beat qualifier Rasika Raje of Maharashtra 21-17, 21-10 in another match.
Seventh seed PC Thulasi notched up a 21-13, 21-13 win over P Kanthi Visalakshi, while second seed Sayali Gokhale brushed aside 10th seed Riya Pillai of Maharashtra 21-8, 21-12 in another match.
Results:
Men's singles pre-quarterfinals: Shreyansh Jaiswal bt Love Kumar 21-11 21-17, Nanda Gopal K. [6] bt Arvind Bhat [16] 23-21 21-19, Abhimanyu Singh bt Mohit Kamat [3] 19-21 21-13 21-9, Ajay Jayaram bt Pratul Joshi [11] 21-23, 21-14, 21-15; Srikanth K. [8] bt Anup Sridhar 21-15 21-15, R.M.V Gurusaidutt [14] bt Subhankar Dey 21-12 21-4, P Kashyap bt Suraj R. N 21-9 21-11, Sai Praneeth B. [2] bt Velavan V 21-17 21-13.
Women's singles prequarterfinals: Neha Pandit bt Arathi Sara 16-21, 21-14, 21-14; Arunadhati bt Sheshadari Sanyal 21-11, 21-8; P. V. Sindhu bt Saili Rane 21-7, 6-3 (retd.); Anita Ohlan bt Mohita Sahdev 21-9, 21-15; Tanvi Lad bt Rasika Raje 21-17, 21-10; Trupti Murgunde bt Sneha Santhilal 21-13, 21-8; P. C. Thulasi bt Kanthi Visalakshi 21-13, 21-13; Sayali Gokhale bt Riya Pillai 21-8, 21-12.