PUNE, January 4: Qualifier Sudhir Babu of Karnataka was the pick of the day as he almost shocked number three seed Abhin Shyam Gupta (Air-India). However, the latter's vast experience helped him survive the first round of the IVth all-India V V Natu Memorial badminton championship which began at the WIE Sports Complex here today.In an encounter lasting two minutes over the hour, Gupta eventually scored a 15-6, 7-15, 15-12 win.Even then, Gupta was among the the major benefactors of the day along with No 1 Deepankar Bhatarcharjee (Assam) and Gujarat state champion Anuj Gupta, to enter the last eight stage.Moreover, all seeded players in the men's section made steady progress with straight game wins over their opponents. "I'am feeling fine," was Bhattarcharjee's way of putting it after carving out a 15-10, 15-10 first round win over Thomas Kurien (Railways) in a game lasting 55 minutes after just one hiccup when he trailed 8-10 in the second game. He won three points in a row to take lead and go on to win.In a battle of state champions, Anuj Gupta got better of recently crowned state champion Mayur Tawade in an effortless 37-minute encounter.In the women's section, national champion and No 1 seed Manjusha Kanwar (Delhi) along with Pooja Parikh (Railways), Larissa Sadarangani (A-I) and Nirmals Kotnis (A-I) rolled on expected lines into the last eight.Bagga pulls out: Maharashtra's senior state runners-up Rajeev Bagga pulled out of the singles after confirming his entry well in advance due to a jet lag. Bagga, who was away playing in the Swiss Open meet, reached Mumbai on Saturday night and just about managed to reach Pune in the morning. "I did not get enough rest, but I would play in the doubles," he said.ResultsMens Singles (Pre-Quarter Finals): Deepankar Bhatacharjee (Asm) bt Harish Chander (Rly) 15-9, 15-1; Anuj Gupta bt Mayur Tawade (Mah) 15-5, 15-6; Abhin Shyam Gupta (A-I) bt Mangrish Palekar (Rly) 15-8, 15-8.Women's Singles (pre-quarter finals): Manjusha Kanwar (Del) bt Palkhan Nagori (Guj) 11-0, 11-2; Nazneen Karimi bt Trupti Murgunde (Mah) 8-11, 11-7, 11-7; Nirmala Kotnis (A-I) bt Aasawari Patwardhan (Mah) 12-9, 12-11; Divya Ramesh (A-I) bt B R Meenakshi (Kar) 9-12, 11-4, 11-9; Pooja Parekh (Rly) bt Ketaki Thakar (Mah) 11-8, 11-7; Larissa Sadarangani (A-I) bt Madhavi Kashikar (Rly) 11-1, 3-0 (conceeded); Sampada Shettye (A-I) bt Feroza Batliwala (Mah) 11-8, 11-7; Deepti C H (Rly) bt Archana Deodhar (Mah) 12-10, 8-11, 11-0.
