Olympians Nikhil Kanetkar and Abhinn Shyam, two players who lit up Indian badminton with their contrasting styles a little more than a decade ago, moved into the men’s above-35 singles quarterfinals in the Manorama BWF World senior championships at the Rajiv Gandhi indoor stadium here on Wednesday evening.
“I’m playing an international tournament after a long time, it has been good so far and I feel I have a good chance of winning a medal,” said Nikhil after his 21-17, 21-18 victory over Switzerland’s Oliver Colin.
Meanwhile, Abhinn Shyam Gupta who defeated Hungary’s Kristof Horvath 21-18, 21-19, will now run into Russia’s top-seeded Stanislav Pukhov, the defending champion.
C.M Shashidhar jolted Denmark’s top-seeded Lars Klintrup 21-8, 21-11 and also moved to the quarterfinals in the above-40 age group. Joining him are Kochi’s K.A. Aneesh and Joy T. Antony.