Four Indians in quarters of China Masters

Changzhou (China), Sep 13 (IANS): India’s Ajay Jayaram, Sourabh Varma, R.M.V. Gurusaidutt and P.V. Sindhu advanced to the quarterfinals of the China Masters Superseries badminton event here Thursday. Gurusaidutt beat compatriot Parupalli Kashyap to surge ahead in the tournament.

Gurusaidutt, ranked 55th, got past his fellow Hyderabadi 21-16, 18-21, 21-4 in a men’s singles second round match lasting a little more than an hour. With the win, the 22-year-old is now 2-1 up on the head-to-head meetings with the World No.19 Kashyap. Gurusaidutt had got the better of former All-England Champion Muhammad Hafiz Hashim Tuesday.

He has a stiffer challenge ahead in the competition as he takes on top seed Chen Long Friday. The Indian has a 0-2 record against the Chinese.

Jayaram and Varma also gave Indian fans plenty to cheer about.

Jayaram, who upset World No.9 Kenichi Tago of Japan in the opening round Tuesday, eased past Singapore’s Zi Liang Derek Wong 21-17, 21-9. The World No.29 takes on compatriot Varma for a place in the last four.

Varma rolled over another higher-ranked opponent in the competition, Hsu Jen Hao of Chinese Taipei, 21-12, 21-16, for a last eight berth in the $200,000 event.

In the women’s singles, World No.24 Sindhu came from behind to beat 14th-ranked Buranaprasertsuk 10-21, 21-7, 21-19. She faces second seed Li Xuerui of China in the quarters.

The mixed doubles pair of Tarun Kona and Ashwini Ponnappa, however, failed to clear the first hurdle, losing to Malaysia’s Jian Guo Ong and Yin Loo Lim 9-21, 14-21.