Ashmita Chaliha, Rakshitha Ramraj Set Up All-India Semifinal at Korea Masters

India is assured of a finalist at the Korea Masters Super 300 badminton tournament after Ashmita Chaliha and Rakshitha Ramraj stormed into the women's singles semifinals with impressive quarterfinal victories here on Friday.

World No. 50 Ashmita produced the biggest upset of the tournament so far, knocking out top seed and world No. 22 Hina Akechi of Japan 20-22, 21-15, 21-19 in a fiercely contested battle at the Asan Yi Sun-sin Gymnasium.

The victory also helped Ashmita settle scores with Akechi, who had defeated the Indian in their only previous meeting at last year's Malaysia Super 100.

Ashmita had to dig deep after narrowly losing the opening game. She stayed within striking distance throughout the first game and even earned a game point at 20-19, but Akechi recovered to take the opener.

The Indian responded emphatically in the second game, turning a 7-7 scoreline into a commanding 13-7 lead with a six-point burst. She maintained her composure to level the match and force a decider.

Ashmita looked in control in the final game, opening up an 18-11 advantage. Akechi, however, fought back with six straight points to make it 17-18. The Indian held her nerve under pressure and closed out the contest to complete a memorable upset.

Rakshitha, meanwhile, overcame fellow Indian and third seed Tanvi Sharma 18-21, 21-19, 21-18 in a match lasting more than an hour.

The victory was particularly significant for Rakshitha as it marked her fourth win over Tanvi. Tanvi had entered the tournament on a high after claiming her maiden BWF title at last week's Taipei Open.

Rakshitha started strongly in the opening game, building a 13-8 advantage, but Tanvi staged a remarkable comeback to move ahead 16-14 before sealing the game.

The second game remained closely fought, with Rakshitha holding a slender advantage at the interval. She eventually secured the game after Tanvi sent a return wide.

The decider followed another tight script, with the scores locked at 14-14. Rakshitha then capitalised on three unforced errors from Tanvi to move 19-16 ahead. A wayward cross-court smash gave her four match points, and she completed the comeback when Tanvi found the net.

With both Indians winning their respective quarterfinals, Ashmita and Rakshitha will now face each other for a place in the Korea Masters final, guaranteeing India representation in the title clash.