Nabin Shrestha of Nepal stunned top-seeded Daniel Fan of Australia as Nepal No 1 Ratnajit Tamang, Dipesh Dhami and Prince Dahal won their respective men’s singles matches to enter the quarter-finals of the Annapurna Nepal International Series Badminton Championships on Thursday.

Unseeded Shrestha overcame second set debacle to send the Australian packing as he pulled 21-15, 18-21, 21-16 victory at the Dashrath Stadium covered hall. The 23-year-old will meet teenage prodigy Prince Dahal in the last eight match. Dahal recovered from a first set deficit to beat Datu Mohd Shah Eizlan on Malaysia 15-21, 21-17, 21-13.

“The first set was relatively easier, but I conceded too many negative points to lose the next set,” said the Tribhuvan Army Club shuttler Shrestha. “The shuttlecock was also fast and we are not used to playing with such shuttles. I noticed my opponent’s weakness in backhand return and exploited it. I also took advantage of his services as he hurled it just over the net allowing me to tap it,” said the Nepal No 7, adding that he was really pleased to beat the top seed. Regarding his quarter-final opponent, Shrestha said: “Dahal is a talented and young player. I will try my best against him.” The fixture between Shrestha and Dahal ensured that there will be at least one Nepali player in the semi-finals.

Nepal No 1 and the fourth seed Tamang registered a comfortable 21-7, 21-12 win over compatriot Bishnu Katwal. The only other seeded player, Nepal No 2 Dipesh Dhami saw off Bikash Shrestha in straight sets 21-15, 21-13. Arintap Das Gupta and Dev Raj Rana were the other Nepali players to bow out of the pre-quarterfinals. Gupta lost 14-21, 23-21, 21-13 to Malaysian Seng Zoe Yeoh while Rana went down against second-seeded Gulshan Kumar Kartikey of India 21-9, 21-3.

In the women’s singles, Nepal No 1 and the tournament’s third-seed Nangsal Devi Tamang lost her last-16 match while Sita Rai and Sima Rajbanshi were the home team’s shuttlers to secure quarter-final berths. India’s Samiya Imad Faroqui dispatched Nangsal 21-5, 21-13. Rai beat Loktama Rai 21-16, 21-17 and Rajbanshi saw off Sunayna Mukhiya 21-17, 21-17 in the all-Nepal contest.

Chika Shigeyaman of Japan, Yu Chieh of Taiwan, Gayatri Gopichand Pullela of India, Samiya Imad Faroqui of India, Yuri Nakamura of Japan were the other players to book quarter-final spots in the women’s singles. Swornaraj Bohara of India, Sen Zoe Yeoh of Malaysia, Mohammad Salman Khan of Bangladesh also secured men’s singles quarter-final berths.

Tamang siblings Ratnajit and Nangsal made it to the mixed doubles quarter-finals defeating Bikash Shrestha and Sita Rai 22-20, 21-15. Nabin Shrestha and Anu Maya Rai of Nepal, Kirtesh Dhindhiwal and Anubha Kaushik of India, Thailand’s Bowornwatanuwong Phutthaport and Indonesia’s Ririn Amelia also made to mixed doubles quarter-finals.
In the men’s doubles, Nepal’s Dipesh and Ratnajit, Irfan and Riyaz Ansari, Bijeet Thapa Magar and Bikash as well as Prince and Nabin made it to the last-eight.