NAGPUR: Friday favoured the brave and Malvika Bansod fought fearlessly for 42 minutes to topple India No 3 Aakarshi Kashyap and take sweet revenge for her India Open quarterfinal defeat, cruising to the semifinals of the Syed Modi International Super 300 badminton tournament in Lucknow.
In a clinical display, the 20-year-old Malvika took the Aakarshi challenge in her stride with a straight games 21-11, 21-11 victory at the Babu Banarasi Das Indoor Stadium on Friday afternoon.
It was a Friday afternoon last week when Aakarshi stole Malvika's thunder of stunning Saina Nehwal by sending the city shuttler packing from the India Open in New Delhi.
While Malvika was pumped up to avenge her Delhi defeat, Aakarshi looked clueless as the left-handed city girl took a handy 11-4 lead in the first game, scoring eight consecutive points. Malvika continued her aggressive approach in the second game and after scoring six straight points for a 10-4 advantage, she sealed Aakarshi's fate with an easy 21-11 win.
Sanjay Mishra, with whom Malvika trains in Raipur, was elated with her approach. In a chat with TOI, Mishra said, "Malvika's body language was quite positive today. She looked very energetic on the court."
In the semifinals to be played on Saturday, Malvika will square up against Haryana's 17-year-old Anupama Upadhyaya, who registered a hard-fought 24-22, 23-21 victory over compatriot Samiya Imad Farooqui in her quarterfinal match.
Malvika's excellent run in the Super 500 tournament at New Delhi helped her climb 27 places, up to 84 in the latest world badminton rankings.
In Lucknow, Malvika made it to her first semifinal in the world tour super 300 tournament.
