M Tharun, Ravi Storm Into Guwahati Masters Super 100 Quarterfinals

M Tharun and Ravi toppled higher-seeded opponents to storm into the men's singles quarterfinals of the Guwahati Masters Super 100 badminton tournament here on Thursday.

Tharun, the runner-up at the Senior National Championships, showcased nerves of steel, saving two game points in the opening game before overcoming top seed Priyanshu Rajawat 24-22, 15-21, 21-13 in a gruelling one-hour and 10-minute battle.

Ravi displayed remarkable grit to defeat Denmark’s fifth seed Mads Christophersen 21-23, 21-17, 21-14, setting up a last-eight clash against Chinese qualifier Zhu Xuan Chen.

Sathish Kumar Karunakaran also secured his place in the quarterfinals with a hard-fought 21-19, 9-21, 21-7 win over Malaysia's Sholeh Aidil.

Meanwhile, fourth seed Ayush Shetty, the 2023 World Junior Championships bronze medallist, prevailed in a marathon encounter, edging compatriot S Sankar Muthusamy Subramanian 19-21, 22-20, 23-21.

In mixed doubles, the unseeded duo of K Sathwik Reddy and Vaishnavi Khadkekar stunned top seeds Satish Kumar Karunakaran and Aadya Variyath 18-21, 21-13, 21-17.

They will next face fifth seeds Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto, who came from behind to beat Ayush Agarwal and Shruti Mishra 15-21, 21-10, 21-11.

In women's singles, Tasnim Mir came agonizingly close to a major win, holding three match points against defending champion Lalinrat Chaiwan but fell short in a heartbreaking 21-11, 18-21, 26-24 defeat to the Thai shuttler.

Anmol Kharb and Tanvi Sharma advanced with straight-game victories.

Anmol eased past compatriot Tara Shah 21-9, 21-15, while Tanvi defeated Yi En Hsieh of Chinese Taipei 21-19, 21-8.

Mansi Singh also secured a quarterfinal spot with a spirited 17-21, 21-13, 21-9 comeback win over Chinese Taipei’s Chen Su Yu.

Top seeds Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa, the defending champions, continued their title defence with a 21-17, 21-17 win over compatriots Amrutha Pramuthesh and Sonali Singh.

The third seeded women's doubles pair Priya Konjengbam and Shruti Mishra, as well as the second-seeded men's doubles team of Hariharan Amsakarunan and Ruban Kumar Rethinasabapathi, also booked their places in the quarterfinals.