Gopi, Aparna in the final

Meenakshi relived moments of her forgettable encounters against Manjusha in the past and walked into a tightrope situation in the decider. Having lost four close matches to Manjusha, one of them after serving a match-point in Guwahati recently, Meenakshi was shaky after taking a 10-4 lead in the decider.

8220;I lost control as I thought about those losses,8221; said Meenakshi.

Aparna found it difficult to get her length right against Lakshmi after taking the first game easily. But Lakshmi came back into the match as she made light of a 7-8 deficit and levelled the scores winning the second game. However, it was all Aparna in the third game.

8220;I was a little raw in this match because I was not really tested in the previous matches,8221; said Aparna, who had lost to Lakshmi in the final five years ago.

Gopi was not happy with the humid conditions and had to apparently change his usual attacking style. 8220;I wanted to conserve some energy and so concentrated on the rallies and moved him around the court,8221; said the three-time National champion.

Sidharth Jain, who had taken a game off Gopi in three or four matches in the last two years, was not up to the mark on Tuesday. Gopi was a bit erratic towards the end going for some hard shots but then the match was already won by then.

Kanetkar promised much in the first game taking a 6-0 and 13-7 lead with his flair but then the gritty Gupta, after losing the game at 14-17, played a near flawless game to put out the PSCB southpaw in a little more than one hour.

8220;The brand of shuttles used here is not suited to my style. It is slow,8221; opined Kanetkar, who is leading 5-4 in head-to-head encounters with Gupta.

Results

Men8217;s doubles semis: Markose Bristow/Vijaydeep Singh PSCB bt Ajay Kanwar/George Thomas Del/PSCB 15-2 15-4, Jaseel Ismail/Vincent Lobo PSCB w/o Ajit Wijetilak/Jose George PSCB/Ker.

Women8217;s singles quarter-finals: Aparna Popat PSCB bt Ketki Thakkar A-I 11-3 11-0, PVV Lakshmi PSCB bt Divya Ramesh LIC 11-0 11-4, Manjusha Kanwar PSCB bt Leena Patnekar LIC 11-8 11-5, BR Meenakshi Kar bt Neelima Choudhary PSCB 11-7 11-2.

Women8217;s doubles semis: Madhumita Bisht/PVV Lakshmi Rly/PSCB bt Meenakshi/Tanuja Beegum Kar/Rly 15-7 15-7, Jwala/Shruti Kurien AP bt Manjusha/Archana PSCB 15-13 15-8. Quarter-finals: Madhumita Bisht/PVV Lakshmi BAI bt Devisuma/Fathima Ker 15-6 15-6; BR BR Meenakshi/Tanuja Kar/Rly bt Sim Sim Salaria/Noopura Bhide Mah 15-8 15-10, Manjusha Kanwar/Archana D PSCB bt Neelima Choudhary/Swetha 15-13 15-7, G Jwala/Shruti Kurien AP bt Sampada Shetye/Madhavi Rly 15-8 15-4.

Mixed doubles semis: Jaseel P Ismail/Manjusha Kanwar PSCB bt G Jwala/Vidhyadhar AP 15-11 13-15 15-9, Madhumita Bisht/Rajeev Bagga Mah bt Archana Deodhar/Vincent Lobo PSCB 15-13, 15-7.