Shuttlers Jayaram, Praneeth progress to Canada Open semis

Ace Indian shuttlers Ajay Jayaram and B Sai Praneeth progressed through to the semifinals of the men's singles event at the Canada Open here on Friday.

While the top-seeded Jayaram overcame compatriot Harsheel Dani 21-18, 19-21, 21-8 in a hard-fought contest that lasted 47 minutes, Sai Praneeth claimed a comfortable 21-14, 21-16 win over Estonia's Raul Must in the quarterfinals.

Jayaram will next face third-seeded Korean Lee Hyun II, while Sai Praneeth will be up against seventh-seeded Brice Leverdez for a spot in the finals.

On the other hand, top-seeded men's doubles pair of Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy reached the semifinals after receiving a walkover against Ted Chen and Liao Chao Tsiang.

Meanwhile, rest of the Indian shuttlers had a disappointing outing at the USD 55,000 Grand Prix badminton tournament.

Despite producing a spirited display, second-seed HS Prannoy was beaten 22-20, 21-23, 18-21 by Leverdez in a gruelling men's singles contest that lasted 65 minutes.

In women's singles, Ruthvika Shivani Gadde and Tanvi Lad bowed out of the tournament after losing their respective quarterfinal matches.

Whereas, top-seeded women's pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponappa conceded a walkover to Leanne Choo and Rachel Honderich, who will now fight for a spot in the final.