HKFC International: Joshna storms into semifinal; Dipika bows out

After a comfortable 3-1 victory over Egyptian qualifier Salma Hany in the opening round, World No.13 Joshna Chinappa continued her impressive run in the tournament to reach the last four. The third-seed started the match on a positive note by edging the opening game 15-13 against former World No. 1 Rachael Grinham of Australia. She made it look easy in the second game, and won it 11-6 to make it 2-0.

But, the seventh-seed Aussie upped her game in the next two games and won it 11-6, 11-9 to make it 2-2 in the crucial quarterfinal match. Although she lost two games on the trot, Joshna kept her calm and won the fifth game 11-4 to confirm her place in the last four. Joshna will next face second-seed Annie Au of Hong Kong in the semifinal on Friday.

However, another Indian hope Dipika Pallikal bowed out of the tournament after suffering a one-sided defeat at the hands of top-seed Joelle King of New Zealand. The Indian looked at sea against the favourite, and lost the match 8-11,6-11,8-11 in 36 minutes to exit the event.