Ankita Bhambri will be the lone Indian hope in the semi-finals of the Bank of Baroda ITF Women's Tennis Championship after second seed Rushmi Chakravarthy was made to bite the dust in New Delhi on Thursday.
Chakravarthy, the highest ranked Indian in the fray, was troubled by an injury in her right hand and could not find rhythm eventually going down to fifth seed Montinee Tangphong of Thailand 1-6, 2-6 in one hour and six minutes.
The Indian lost the first five games of the opening set and had to seek medical attention in the third. But the break did not help her as she lost the set and the match without even putting up a fight.
Seventh seed Bhambri had no problems in making it to the last four as her opponent, fourth seed Shikha Uberoi of USA, retired due to a back spasm.
Shikha, who was given a wild card in the championship, sustained the injury while serving in the second game itself.
She tried to continue after receiving medical attention but had to forfeit the match, trailing 0-4, as the pain aggravated.
Top seed Chia-Jung Chuang of Chinese Taipei moved into the semi-finals with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Kinjo Satomi of Japan 6-3, 7-5 while Jie Hao of China overcame the challenge of Wilawan Choptang of Thailand 6-0, 7-5.
Results (Singles): Chia-Jung Chuang (TPE) beat Kinjo Satomi (JPN) 6-3, 7-5; Ankita Bhambri beat Shikha Uberoi (USA) 4-0 conceded; Jie Hao (CHN) beat Wilawan Choptang (THA) 6-0, 7-5; Montinee Tang Hong (THA) beat Rushmi Chakravarthy (IND) 6-1, 6-2.
