Amrit defeated Deepak Thapa 11-1, 11-2, 11-5 in straight sets in the semifinal on Wednesday. He will face either Arhant Keshar Singh or Prabin Gurung in the title clash on Saturday. Junior champion Thapa also entered the semifinals of men´s singles category on Wednesday along with his father -- defending champion Hira Bahadur Thapa -- and Suresh Gurung. [break]
Hira defeated Arhant Keshar Singh 12-10, 11-7, 9-11, 11-8 for a semifinal berth. Similarly, Amrit saw off Prajwal Prakash Pradhan 12-14, 11-3, 11-6, 11-3, while Gurung defeated Bir Bahadur Nepal 11-6, 11-5, 11-7 in straight sets.Amrit will take on Gurung in the semifinal on Friday. Hira will meet either Binod Ratna Shakya or Suraj Shrestha in the last four.
Krishna Thapa and Manjeela Ale Magar reached the semifinals in the women´s section. Thapa recorded a comfortable 11-3, 11-2, 11-1 straight sets win over Sapana Blon. Ale Magar overcame Swasthani Shrestha 8-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-4. Sudip Bahadur Singh secured berth in the final of masters´ above 45 years category defeating Bidur Dhamala 11-3, 11-3, 11-4. He will meet the winner of the other semifinal between Ajay Keshar Singh and Ratnakaji Shakya in the final. In the quarterfinals Ajay had defeated Suman Tuladhar while Ratnakaji had beaten Sanjiv Gandhi.
TT qualifiers kick off
KATHMANDU (REPUBLICA): The pre-qualifiers for the selection of national table tennis players kicked off on Wednesday at the Table Tennis Training Center in Lainchaur, Kathmandu. The pre-qualifying tournament is being organized to select players for the national team. A total of 126 players -- 95 male and 31 female -- are taking part in the two-day pre-qualifiers, said Surendra Suwal, the chief coach of table tennis. Altogether 32 players -- 16 each in male and female categories -- will be selected for the national qualifiers from the tournament. Along with the selected players, the national qualifiers will also feature the top 16 players of the 35th National Table Tennis Tournament held in Dhangadhi in each category. The final selection for the national team will be held on Friday and Saturday.
GEMS brushes aside Blue Bird
KATHMANDU (REPUBLICA): GEMS registered a comprehensive 6-0 win over Blue Bird School on Wednesday in the boys´ qualifiers for the Coca-Cola Cup Inter-school Football Tournament being held at Sano Gaucharan, Kathmandu. Niraj Maharjan completed a hat-trick for GEMS while Sunny Gyawali scored a brace and Prayas Shrestha added another. In other matches of the day, Little Angels´ defeated Jalpa High School 2-1 with a brace from Anuj Byanjakar, while Gajurmukhi edged past Changu Narayan Higher Secondary School 1-0. Dunga Dahal scored the winner for Gajurmukhi in the second half. Apple Academy saw off Gyanodaya High School 2-1. Meanwhile, Gyanodaya English Residential School toiled hard to beat Nepal APF School 8-7 in tie-breaker following a goalless stalemate in the regulation time.
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