By A Staff Reporter, Kathmandu, Aug. 13: Kshitiz Khanal of Armed Police Force (APF) Club, Bishnu Katuwal of Peace Fitness Club, and Praful Maharjan of Tribhuvan Army Club (TAC) have secured semi-final berths in the men’s singles Top 8 at the 14th Li-Ning Pushpalal Memorial National Ranking Badminton Tournament.
In Men’s Group A, Khanal sealed his place in the final four after recording his second consecutive win, defeating Nepal Police Club’s (NPC) Jivan Acharya 21–13, 23–21. Khanal had earlier upset Nepal’s top-ranked shuttler, Prince Dahal, in his opening fixture on Monday.
Dahal, representing APF, bounced back in his second group match today with a 21–14, 21–19 victory over Sunil Joshi of NPC.
Both Dahal and Joshi currently hold a 1–1 record, though Dahal occupies second place on set difference.
In Men’s Group B, Katuwal and Maharjan booked their semi-final spots with second-round victories.
Katuwal dispatched NPC’s Deepak Bohara 21–17, 21–17, while Maharjan earned his second win after edging APF’s Devraj Rana 21–19, 11–21, 21–19 in a hard-fought contest.
Maharjan sits second on set difference, with the group winner and runner-up to be decided following Friday’s final league fixtures.
In the Women’s Top 8 league, APF’s Rihanna Sherchan and NPC’s Nita Lamsal qualified for the semi-finals from Group B with two wins from three matches.
Sherchan leads the group on set difference ahead of Thursday’s deciding matches.
Meanwhile, in Women’s Group A, Nepal number one Rashila Maharjan (TAC) and Seshna Shripali (NPC) lead the standings with one win apiece.
Shripali came from a set down to beat TAC’s Anumaya Rai 17–21, 21–11, 21–13, while Maharjan’s lone victory came against Shripali in their opening match.
Semi-final qualification for Group A will be finalised following Friday’s final group encounters.
The tournament is organised by the National Badminton Association under the Nepal Sports Federation and co-organised by the Yala Sports Academy.
The matches for the Men’s and Women’s Top 8 Rankings and Women’s Top 1 Ranking are played on a league-cum-knockout basis. The Top 8 players are divided into two groups. The players finishing first and second in each group will qualify for the semi-finals.
The winner of the tournament will receive Rs. 50,000 in cash, while the runner-up will receive Rs. 35,000. The third-placed player will receive approximately Rs. 15,000.
According to the organisers, 482 players from 60 districts affiliated with the Nepal Badminton Association, alongside three departmental teams, Tribhuvan Army Club, Nepal Police Club, and APF Club, are competing across 15 categories.
The tournament, which runs until 15 August, features competition in 15 events: Men’s and Women’s Top 8 Singles, Men’s and Women’s Non-Top 8 Singles, Open Men’s and Women’s Doubles, Under-11, Under-15, and Under-19 Open Boys’ and Girls’ Singles, Over-35 Open Doubles, and Over-45 and Over-55 Masters Open Doubles.
The Rising Nepal
