Indian women’s singles player Malvika Bansod reached the semi-final of the US Open Super 300 on Friday after a come-from-behind 10-21, 21-15, 21-10 win over Scotland’s Kirsty Gilmour in Fort Worth, Texas.
Bansod is the only Indian remaining in the tournament after women’s doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand exited the tournament in the quarter-final, as did Priyanshu Rajawat in the men’s singles event.
The third seed from Scotland, Gilmour started strongly, taking a 9-2 lead in the opening game against Bansod before cruising to clinch it 21-10.
The Indian however, bounced back by winning the second game 21-15 to take the match into a decider.
After both players remained within range of each other in the opening exchanges, Bansod won four consecutive points to go 10-5 up and broaden the gap. At 14-10, the Indian then won seven points on the trot to close out the match and book a spot in the semi-final, where she will take on sixth seed Natsuki Nidaira of Japan.
In the women’s doubles event, second seed Treesa and Gayatri lost a tight match 17-21, 21-17, 19-21 to Japan’s Rui Hirokami and Yuna Kato.
Later on, Rajawat, the eight seed, lost 21-15, 11-21, 18-21 to fourth seeded Chinese player Lei Lan Xi.
