Top seed Velavan Senthilkumar advanced to the quarter-finals of the HCL-SRFI PSA Challenger Tournament in Mumbai with a straight-games win over Ayaan Vaziralli. Om Semwal pushed Egypt's Ziad Ibrahim to five games before losing narrowly, while Shameena Riaz exited the women's event after a four-game defeat.

Mumbai, July 1: Top seed Velavan Senthilkumar made a winning start to his campaign, even while Om Semwal came up with a spirited performance but fell short in the end in the USD 15,000 HCL-SRFI PSA Challenger Tournament, being hosted by the Juhu Vile Parle Gymkhana Club at its air-conditioned courts here on Wednesday.

Senthilkumar hardly broke a sweat before accounting for Ayaan Vaziralli 11-4, 11-9, 11-6. Fourth seed A. Hafez and seventh seed T. Endo also advanced to the quarter-finals with straight-game wins.

Semwal Falls In Decider

Semwal, who had knocked out the third seed in a five-game thriller on Tuesday, looked on course for another upset win over eighth seed Ziad Ibrahim of Egypt. However, the 22-year-old from Jindal Vashind faltered a bit in the final stages, losing a close decider. Ibrahim prevailed 11-9, 11-13, 11-8, 8-11, 11-9.