Tribhuvan Army Club (TAC) trio entered the men’s singles semi-finals of the eighth Pushpa Lal Memorial National Open Badminton Championships at the National Sports Council covered hall on Thursday.

Defending champion Ratnajit Tamang, Rukesh Maharjan and Nabin Shrestha of TAC along with Nepal Armed Police Force (APF) Club’s Dipesh Dhami made it to the last-four. Tamang beat Nir Bikram Devkota of Nepal Police Club (NPC) 21-17, 21-18 to set the semi-final clash with club-mate Maharjan, who dispatched Bishnu Katuwal of NPC 21-16, 21-19. Shrestha saw off Bikash Shrestha of Bhojpur 21-19, 21-11 and will play APF’s Dhami, who eased past Prince Dahal of Silk Group 21-16, 21-20.

The women’s quarter-finals saw, Army’s Nangsal Devi Tamang and Rasila Maharjan along with APF’s Shova Gauchan and Jessica Gurung record wins. Tamang dispatched Samjhana Sharma of Banke 21-12, 21-8 to set the last-four showdown with APF shuttler Gauchan, who saw off Anumaya Rai of TAC 21-17, 21-19. Maharjan beat her Army teammate Ranjana Bhatta 21-14, 21-13 and plays defending champion Jessica Gurung of APF for a place in the final. Gurung rallied for a 19-21, 21-15, 21-11 win over Amita Giri of Army club.

Prince Dahal put his singles disappointment behind him by advancing to the U-17 singles semi-finals. Dahal eased past JB Saud of Kailali 21-7, 21-9. Priyanshu Singh Chhetri of Zest Badminton Academy beat Himanshu Kunwar of Dang 21-11, 21-18, Diwas Shankar of TAC saw off Amrit Chaudhary of Kailali 19-21, 21-11, 21-13 and Pemba Sherpa of Zest crushed Himal Chand of Kanchanpur 21-11, 21-13 to enter the U-17 semi-finals.

Army duo Rashila Maharjan and Ranjana Bhatta along with Rose Pandey and Sima Rajbanshi of Morang made it to the last four in the women’s U-17 singles event. Maharjan demolished Dimona KC of Zest 21-2, 21-4 and Bhatta beat Anjana Rai of Jhapa 21-16, 21-15. Pandey dispatched Smriti Rai of Zest 21-5, 21-13 and Rajbanshi got the better of Bishna Bista of Kanchanpur 21-8, 21-9.

In the men’s doubles, APF’s Dipesh Dhami and Bijit Thapa Magar beat Dipak Bohara of Jeevan Acharya of NPC 21-16, 21-17 to enter semi-finals. They were joined in to the last-four by clubmates Gautam Kathayat and Jeevan Chaudhary after seeing off Banke’s Irfan Ansari and Riyaj Ansari 21-15, 21-16. Maharjan duo Rukesh and Praful of TAC beat APF’s Sajan Krishna Tamrakar and Sudip Sedai 21-16, 21-17. Ratnajit Tamang and Nabin Shrestha of TAC overcame Bishnu Katuwal and Anish Shrestha of NPC 21-17, 22-20 in another doubles quarter-final match.

The women’s doubles saw Anu Maya Rai and Amita Giri beat Jyoti Limbu and Dina Pun of Zest 21-15, 21-12 and set the semi-final date with APF’s Puja Shrestha and Jessica Gurung. Shrestha and Gurung overcome Smriti Rai and Saafi Khatri’s pair 21-7, 21-5 of Zest. Nangsal Devi Tamang and Rashila Maharjan of TAC thumped Tara Ale and Manisha Khadka of Zest 21-8, 21-4 and next play Banke’s Sita Rai and Samjhana Sharma in the semi-final match. Rai and Sharma had teamed up to beat Sima Rajbanshi and Rose Pandey of Morang 21-8, 21-14.