Indian shuttlers assure eight medals at 13th SAG

India shuttlers continued their dominating show at the 13th South Asian Games (SAG) after four individuals and as many doubles pairs entered the semi-finals here on Wednesday. With the entry into the last-4 stage, the shuttlers will at least win bronze at the competition.

Top-seed Siril Verma started the day on a winning note for India when he beat Pakistan's Murad Ali 21-12, 21-17 in the men's singles quarter-final match while, in the women's singles quarter-finals, 16-year-old Gayathri Gopichand stunned second-seed Pakistan's Mahoor Shahzad with a convincing 21-15, 21-16 win.

Joining Gayathri in the semi-finals was top-seed Ashmita Chaliha, who also thrashed her Pakistani opponent Palwasha Bashir 21-9, 21-7. Aryaman Tandon was another Indian after Verma to reach the men's singles semi-finals after he registered a 21-17, 21-17 win over Sri Lanka's Ranthushka Karunathilake.

The Indian women's doubles pairs, Kuhoo Garg-Anoushka Parikh and Meghana Jakkampudi-S Nelakurthi, also progressed into the semi-finals after beating their Bangladeshi opponents. While, Garg and Parikh beat Bristi Khatun and Rehana Khatun 21-18, 21-11, Jakkampudi and Nelakurthi notched up a 21-14, 21-11 win against Shalpa Akter and Alina Sultana.

In the mixed doubles category, the top-seeded pair of Dhruv Kapila and Jakkampudi had to fight hard in the second set against Sri Lanka's Ranthushka Karunathilake and Kavindi Sirimannage before clinching the match 21-14, 26-24.

The only setback for India came in the men's doubles category when the top seeded pair of Arun George and Sanyam Shukla lost to Sri Lanka's S Dias Angoda Vidanalage and B Tharindu Dullew 21-10, 23-21. However, Krishna Garaga and Kapila kept India's medal hopes alive in the men's doubles category when they thrashed second seed Nepal's Dipesh Dhami and Ratanjit Tamang 21-16, 21-13 to enter the semi-finals.

All the semi-final matches will take place on Thursday.

( With inputs from IANS )