Tanvi edges past Malvika into Vietnam Open semis; Prannoy, Isharani, Rakshitha also progress

FILE PHOTO: Tanvi Sharma held firm against Malvika Bansod to progress to the Vietnam Open semifinal. | Photo Credit: Badmintonphoto

Tanvi Sharma edged past compatriot Malvika Bansod to move into the women’s singles semifinal of the Vietnam Open Super 100 tournament here on Friday.

The World No. 27 defeated the seventh seed 21-18, 15-21, 21-14 in xx minutes to seal a place in the final four. Third seed Isharani Baruah also won her quarterfinal match 21-15, 21-18 against Chinese Taipei’s Huang Ching Ping.

Malvika got off the blocks quickly in Game 1 against the top seed and sped to a comfortable 13-6 lead before Tanvi began her fight back. She won 10 out of the next 13 points to level the game at 16-16 before keeping her cool under pressure to win 21-18.

The second game was more closely fought, with both contestants sharing the lead. This time, it was Malvika who tightened the screws in the end to take the game 21-15.

The third game remained close until the halfway stage, before Tanvi pulled ahead and eventually took the game comfortably to complete another win.

She will face the winner of the all-Thai encounter between Tonrug Saeheng and Sarunrak Vitidsarn. Isharani will face either Rakshitha Sree or Mansi Singh in the semifinal.