Lalitpur, April 25

Defending champion Samrakshyak Bhushan Bajracharya, Jitendra Pariyar, Pranav Khanal and Santosh Khatri advanced to the semi-finals of the fifth Citizens Bank Open Tennis Tournament here today.

Bajracharya defeated Dawa Sherpa in straight sets of 6-2, 6-3 in the men’s singles quarter-final match at the Satdobato Tennis Complex courts. Likewise, Pariyar outplayed Kumar Adhikari 6-0, 6-1, Khanal registered a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Nabin Magar, and Khatri beat Anil Shahi 6-3, 6-4 in other matches.

In women’s singles category, Rana siblings Mayanka and Mahika made it to the last four along with Ira Rawat and Prerana Koirala. Defending champion Mayanka defeated Sneha Yadav 6-1, 6-1, while Mahika beat Bhagawati BK 6-0, 7-5. Similarly, Rawat outplayed Ganga Sharma 6-0, 6-3, whereas Koirala bagged a double bagel against Lumu Lama to advance to the semis.

At the Dasharath Stadium courts in Tripureshwor, Deepak Man Shrestha defeated Ashok Bajracharya 4-0, 4-0 and entered the Above-65 veteran singles semi-finals. Also, Samir Sherchan, Manoj Shah, Pradeep Shah and Pratap Moktan advanced to the Above-45 veteran singles semi-finals, while Mahesh Shrestha, Niraj Thapa, Kamal Bhandari and Raju Shrestha made it to the Above-35 veteran singles semis.

In Above-55 veteran doubles, the pairs of Manoj Rana/Chhyamba Dundup, Karma Ghale/Prithivi Thakali, Sahadev Dhungana/Dhruba Gurung, and Prithivi Man Gurung/Rajendra Gaire advanced to the semi-finals. Likewise, the pairs of Raju Chhetri/Digendra Shrestha, Prem Thapa/Bhuarun Malla, Sanjay Amatya/Dharma Rata Shahi, and Lok Gurung/Dharam Lamichhane entered the Above-45 veteran singles semi-finals.

Also, Raju Chhetri/Rajesh Pariyar, Mahesh Shrestha/Kamal Bhandari, Atma Ram Karki/Anuj Arora, and Chhewang Lama/Manoj Shahi made it to the Above-35 men’s doubles semi-finals.