Syed Modi International: Srikanth, Sourabh enter quarterfinals, Lakshya, Ajay lose

Former champion Kidambi Srikanth and Sourabh Verma vanced to quarterfinals but young Lakshya Sen bowed out of men's singles contest at Syed Modi International Bminton tournament on Thursday. Third seed Srikanth, who h lifted title in 2016, eked out a thrilling 18-21 22-20 21-16 win over compatriot Parupalli Kashyap, who is also a former two-time champion here. world 12 Indian will next square off against seventh seed Son Wan Ho of Korea in Super 300 tournament.

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Sourabh, a winner at two Super 100 events in Hyderab and Vietnam, defeated fellow Indian Alap Mishra 21-11 21-18 to set up a clash with Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn, who accounted for World Championships bronze medallist B Sai Praneeth 21-1121-17 in ar round two matches. Lakshya, 18, who has been on a roll with title wins at Belgian International, Dutch Open, SaarLorLux Open, and Scottish Open last week, couldn't produce his best and went down to experienced Son Wan Ho, a former world 1. Ajay Jayaram was also ousted from tournament after his gallant fight ended with a heart-breaking 18-21 21-14 28-30 loss to China's Zhao Jun Peng.

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It was also curtains for 19-year-old Siril Verma, a silver medalist at 2015 World Junior Championships. He lost 9-21 22-24 to Heo Kwang Hee of Korea. Women's doubles pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy retired after y were lagging 0-2 in opening game against English pair of Chloe Birch and Lauren Smith. Young women's pair of Simran Singhi and Ritika Thaker entered quarterfinals after beating compatriots Riya Mookerjee and Anura Prabhudesai 21-12 21-15 in 33 minutes.

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Simran and Ritika, who won Senior Inter-District State Open Championships in Latur and All India Junior (U-19) Ranking in Tamil Nu, will face Germany's Linda Efler and Isabel Herttrich next. Kuhoo Garg and Aushka Parikh beat ar Indian pair of Sheshri Sanyal and Lavanya Sharma 21-13 21-6 to set up a meeting with Hong Kong's NG Wing Yung and Yeung Nga Ting. Among or Indians in fray, Kapil Chaudhary and Akshay Kam, Maneesha K and Rutaparna Panda faltered in second round to bow out of competition.

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