There were a number of upsets on the penultimate day of the Sub-junior/Junior National Championships at the Indian Squash Academy (ISA) here on Monday.
Higher-seeded players went down in four different categories (Boys Under-11, Boys Under-15, Girls Under-13 and Girls Under-15) in the semi-finals. In the Girls Under-15 final four stage, local lass Pooja Arthi fought hard to defeat seed No.1 Kaavya Bansal (Maharashtra) 11-6, 11-6, 4-11, 7-11, 11-4 in a see-saw duel.
The TN girl came good in the deciding game to make it to the title decider, scheduled for Tuesday.
Unseeded Diya Yadav of Maharashtra reached the Girls Under-13 final by beating second seed Unnati Tripathi (Uttarakhand) 12-10, 11-4 11-5.
In the Boys Under-11 section, Aryaveer Dewan (Delhi) upset top seed Agastya Bansal in straight games (11-1, 12-10, 11-3) to sail into the summit clash.
Tamil Nadus Darshil Parasrampuriaalso secured a shock 8-11, 11-6, 11-1, 11-3 win, overcoming Subhash Choudhary (Rajasthan), seeded second.
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In the Boys Under-15 category, Maharashtras Yuvraj Wadhwani got the better of top-ranked compatriot Paarth Ambani 11-9, 12-10, 11-4, while Shaurya Bawa of Delhi emerged victorious against Krishna Mishra (Madhya Pradesh) 11-8, 4-11, 9-11, 11-6, 11-6.
Results: Semi-finals: Boys: Under-11: Aryaveer Dewan (3/4), Delhi, beat Agastya Bansal (1), Maharashtra, 11-1, 12-10, 11-3; Darshil Parasrampuria (3/4), Tamil Nadu, beat Subhash Choudhary (2), Rajasthan, 8-11, 11-6, 11-1, 11-3.
Under-13: K S Arihant (2), Tamil Nadu, beat Dev Sharma (3/4), Maharashtra, 5-11, 11-8, 11-1, 11-6.
Under-15: Yuvraj Wadhwani (5/8), Maharashtra, beat Paarth Ambani (1), Maharashtra, 11-9, 12-10, 11-4; Shaurya Bawa (5/8), Delhi, beat Krishna Mishra (3/4), Madhya Pradesh, 11-8, 4-11, 9-11, 11-6, 11-6.
Girls: Under-13: Diya Yadav, Maharashtra, beat Unnati Tripathi (2), Uttarakhand, 12-10, 11-4, 11-5