Swaran overcomes Dhyan; Joshua wins

Dubai - The event started with an upset in the under-12 boy's singles.

The 39th APEX Badminton tournament got off to a flying start on Friday as ISC badminton courts witnessed a record number of matches in a day. The organizers were forced to use the practice facility at the main hall to complete 89 matches on time.
The event started with an upset in the under-12 boy's singles. Local favourite Swaran Krishna had to fight out three well contested sets to overcome the skilled Dhyan Arjun Vijay. When Dhyan showed skills in tossing, Swaran counter attacked with his strength at the nets before winning 16-21, 21-16, 21-15.
Swaran will play Nabhan Najeeb in semifinals. The finalist will meet Fazim Abdu Ansar from Fujaira, who defeated Shourya Mukund in the other semifinals. Another local boy Vasanth also moved to the semifinals in under-15 singles with a 21-15, 21-14 victory against Naveen Bobby.
In another match, young and upcoming Joshua Yapp from Dubai, upset former Pakistani national player Waqas Ahmed 22-20, 18-21, 21-19. On Thursday night, Riyas Ashar combining with Binu George overcame a stiff challenge from former champion Robby Verghese and former Sri Lankan national player Deepika Siriyani, in veteran mixed doubles.
In super veteran doubles, Abdul Latheef-Musthafa reached the finals by defeating Santhosh-Sathyababu 21-12, 21-18.
In under-15 girls, Evana Bose defeated Nandana Subramaniam 21-6, 21-5. In the same event Srinidhi J defeated Swetha Sunil 15-21, 21-18, 21-7. In under-18 boys singles, local boy Suraj Bhat lost to Stefan Castro 21-12, 17-21, 21-12.