Macau Open: Ashmita storms into semifinals, Anmol out

Indian shuttler Ashmita Chaliha defeated South Korea’s Kim Min Sun 21-16, 21-18 to storm into the Macau Open women’s singles semifinals. However, compatriot Anmol Kharb exited the Super 300 tournament after a hard-fought three-game loss to China's Han Qian Xi

Macau: Indian shuttler Ashmita Chaliha continued her impressive comeback from injury, defeating Korea’s Kim Min Sun in straight games to enter the women’s singles semifinals, but compatriot Anmol Kharb bowed out after a quarterfinal defeat at the Macau Open Super 300 tournament here on Friday.

The 26-year-old from Assam, who returned to competition in May after a three-month injury layoff, took 37 minutes to see off world No.99 Kim 21-16 21-18 to continue her impressive run.

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It is her first semifinal appearance in a BWF tour event this year. She had registered quarterfinal finishes at the China Masters Super 100 and Malaysia Masters super 500 events since returning to the court.

World No. 63 Ashmita, who had to undergo surgery and an extensive rehabilitation period after suffering a medial meniscus tear in her right knee during the Korea Open, will now face Korea’s Park Ga Eun for a place in the final.

In the other match, world No. 51 Anmol, however, failed to capitalise on a strong start, going down 21-14 15-21 13-21 to fourth seed Han Qian Xi, ranked 36th in the world, in a 60-minute clash.

Ashmita and Kim were locked in a close battle in the opening game, with the scores level at 14-14 before the Indian reeled off four consecutive points to seize control and eventually pocket the game.

The second game began on a worrying note for Ashmita as Kim raced to an 8-2 lead. However, the Indian gradually clawed her way back, narrowing the gap to 16-18 before winning five straight points to complete the victory.