WC Qualifying Asia QF: Kumar Downs No.2 Seed Salunkhe To Gatecrash Semi-Finals

The semi-finalists of the Asia World Championships Qualifying event have been confirmed in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with 18-year-old Sehveetrraa Kumar scoring the pick of the wins as she defeated No.2 seed Akanksha Salunkhe in straight games to reach the final four.

Home player Kumar was dominant throughout her contest and needed just over half an hour to book her place in the semi-finals, winning 11-6, 11-5, 11-8. Her semi-final opponent will be Hong Kong’s No.7 seed Toby Tse, who downed the Singapore No.1 and event No.3 seed Wai Yhann Au Yeong in four games.

The top half women’s semi-final will be played between top seed Cheng Nga Ching from Hong Kong and Yiwen Chan from Malaysia. Ching wasted no time in defeating surprise quarter finalist Yu Jie whilst Chan overcame Ching Hei Fung in a tight four game tussle.

In the men’s event, it was an extremely close and entertaining day as three of the four matches went the distance. No.2 seed Addeen Idrakie had to battle past compatriot Darren Pragasam to reach the final four, winning 11-4 in the fifth after 74 minutes. He’ll now face Hong Kong’s Tang Ming Hong who came back from 2-1 down to defeat Mohd Syafiq Kamal.

Unseeded Bryan Tze Kang Lim booked his place in the semi-finals after getting past fellow countryman Ong Sai Hung also in five games. After losing the third game to trail 2-1, Lim found his groove to take the following games 11-4, 11-6. His prize is a last four meeting with top seed Ryunosuke Tsukue from Japan, who was the only player in the men’s draw to win 3-0, beating Sri Lanka’s Ravindu Laksiri in 27 minutes.

Results: Men’s Quarter Finals
[1] Ryunosuke Tsukue (JPN) bt [8] Ravindu Laksiri (SRI) 3-0: 11-4, 11-5, 11-3 (27m)
Bryan Tze Kang Lim (MAS) bt Ong Sai Hung (MAS) 3-2: 11-8, 9-11, 6-11, 11-4, 11-6 (72m)
[3] Tang Ming Hong (HKG) bt [6] Mohd Syafiq Kamal (MAS) 3-2: 7-11, 11-5, 7-11, 11-8, 11-9 (78m)
[2] Addeen Idrakie (MAS) v [7] Darren Pragasam (MAS) 3-2: 14-12, 7-11, 11-4, 9-11, 11-4 (74m)

Draw: Men’s Semi-Finals
[1] Ryunosuke Tsukue (JPN) v Bryan Tze Kang Lim (MAS)
[3] Tang Ming Hong (HKG) v [2] Addeen Idrakie (MAS)

Results: Women’s Quarter Finals
[1] Cheng Nga Ching (HKG) bt Yu Jie (MAS) 3-0: 11-9, 11-6, 11-7 (23m)
[4] Yiwen Chan (MAS) bt [5] Ching Hei Fung (HKG) 3-1: 11-9, 8-11, 11-3, 11-9 (40m)
[7] Toby Tse (HKG) bt [3] Wai Yhann Au Yeong (SGP)3-1: 5-11, 11-5, 11-6, 11-7 (28m)
Sehveetrraa Kumar (MAS) bt [2] Akanksha Salunkhe (IND) 3-0: 11- 6, 11-5, 11-8 (34m)

Draw: Women’s Semi-Finals
[1] Cheng Nga Ching (HKG) v [4] Yiwen Chan (MAS)
Sehveetrraa Kumar (MAS) v [7] Toby Tse (HKG)