Sara Devi came back from a set down to defeat Sabina Panthi of APF 16-21, 21-6, 21-9 in the semifinal played at the National Sports Council Covered Hall on Tuesday, while Nangshal Devi edged past Punam Gurung of Kaski 21-12, 21-7.[break]
In the men´s singles semifinal, Dhami faced a tough challenge from Bikash Shrestha of Bhojpur. Dhami won the first set 21-14 but lost the second 18-21. In the third set, Dhami proved his supremacy and won it 21-18. Dhami, who was suffering from illness since early morning, put up a brilliant performance on Tuesday as he won both the quarterfinal and semifinal matches on the same day. Earlier, Dhami had defeated Pankaj Chand of APF 23-21, 18-21, 21-8 in the quarterfinal.
Meanwhile, Ratnajeet Tamang came back from a set down to beat Sahadev Khadka of Kailali 22-24, 21-13, 21-12 in the second semifinal.
Jessica Gurung and Sunaina Mukhiya of Jhapa reached the final of girls´ singles of the tournament organized by Nepal Confederation of Sports under the initiative of Nepal Badminton Association. Gurung defeated Hemkhyama Rai of Bhojpur 26-24, 21-14 in the semifinal while Mukhiya pulled off a 21-18, 21-14 victory over Tila Neupane of Banke.
Likewise, Nabin Shrestha of Bhojpur thrashed Riyaz Ansari of Banke 21-9, 21-13 to set up a boys´ singles final with Ganesh Rayamajhi of Nepal Police School. Rayamajhi entered the final after his semifinal opponent Bishal Moktan of Bhojpur quit the match due of illness.
In the veterans´ doubles of above-45 age group, APF duo Narayan Man Shakya and Hari Prasad Shrestha defeated Nepal Police duo Surendra Bahadur Singh and Krishna Shiwakoti 21-13, 13-21, 21-18 to reach the final. Similarly, Rajendra Man Shrestha and JB Chand of Nepal Police defeated the APF pair of Prem Kumar Shrestha and Anup Thapa 21-8, 19-21, 21-9 in the other semifinal.
In the veterans´ doubles of above-55 age group, the pair of Madhav Thapa and Pushpa Tamrakar of APF set up a final showdown against Jaya Ram Hamal and Suresh Chandra Shrestha.
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