Lakshit, Navaneeth in U-17 final

Lakshit Bohra dived, ran and was left with a bruised knee after his stunning victory over the top seed Didar JJ Rebello in the under-17 semifinal of the 5Sports Century Bangalore Open squash tournament here on Tuesday.

The 16-year-old from Rajasthan defeated the Haryana lad 11-9, 8-11, 4-11, 12-10, 12-10 in a nail-biting encounter.

In the final, Lakshit will take on Tamil Nadu's Navaneeth Prabhu S, who edged past Madhya Pradesh's Aryan Khandelwal, seeded second, 11-6, 11-5, 2-11, 9-11, 11-8 in the other last-four clash.

Lakshit started slowly but picked up the pace as the game progressed. The two were locked at 6-6 before Didar won two back-to-back points (8-6) to edge ahead but Lakshit produced a brilliant fightback to claim the next four and lead 10-8. Didar won the next one but Lakshit kept his focus to seal the first game.

Didar recovered from the setback in fine fashion, winning the next two 8-11, 4-11. The Haryana boy produced deftest of touches, forcing Lakshit to commit errors, and made it seem like another routine win until the Rajasthani turned the game on its head with an electrifying display.

Lakshit gave his all in the next two games. He ran his heart out, covering every inch of the court, threw himself to the ground to save points, before squaring the contest 2-2.

The game swung back and forth in the decider. Didar led initially (3-1) but Lakshit kept fighting. With the scores tied 10-10, Lakshit reaped the rewards for his hard work, winning the next two to take the match.

Delhi's Gaurav Nandrajog advanced to the men's final after knocking out Maharashtra's Rahul Baitha 12-10, 11-8, 11-8. Nandrajog will play Tamil Nadu's Guhan Senthilkumar for the title on Wednesday. Guhan eased past Vikas Mehra of Delhi, seeded second, 11-9, 12-10, 11-4 in the semifinals.

In the women's section, Lakshya Ragavendran of Tamil Nadu will face her state-mate Aaradhana Kasturiraj in the final. Lakshya progressed after beating Karnataka's Mekhala Srivastava 11-6, 11-6, 11-4 while Aaradhana made short work of Salomi Jayabhanu 11-2, 11-2, 11-4 in the semifinals.

Results: All semifinals: Men: 1-Gaurav Nandrajog (DL) bt 9/16-Rahul Baitha (MH) 12-10, 11-8, 11-8; 3/4-Guhan Senthilkumar (TN) bt 2-Vikas Mehra (TN) 11-9, 12-10, 11-4.

Boys: U-17: 3/4-Lakshit Bohra (RJ) bt 1-Didar J J Rebello (HR) 11-9, 8-11, 4-11, 12-10, 12-10; 3/4-Navaneeth Prabhu S (TN) bt 2-Aryan Khandelwal (MP) 11-6, 11-5, 2-11, 9-11, 11-8.

U-15: 1-Ekam Singh (CH) bt Rohan Arya Gondi (TL) 11-5, 13-11, 9-11, 11-9; 2-Kabir M D Rebello (HR) bt 3/4-Sharan Pbi (MH) 11-9, 7-11, 11-2, 6-11, 11-8.

U-13: 1-Arihant KS (TN) bt 3/4-Aditya Chandani (MH) 11-4, 11-5, 12-10; 2-Ayaan Vaziralli (MH) bt 3/4-Avalokit Singh (RJ) 11-9, 7-11, 11-9, 11-6.

U-11: 2-Rahul Sanjay Balakrishnan (KA) bt 5/8-Ayaan Kuchhal (RJ) 11-6, 11-8, 11-3; 3/4-Aryaveer Dewan (DL) bt 1-Darshil Parasrampuria (TN) 9-11, 11-7, 11-8, 13-11.

Women: 3/4-Aaradhana Kasturiraj (TN) bt Salomi Jayabhanu (KA) 11-2, 11-2, 11-4; Lakshya Ragavendran (TN) bt Mekhala Srivastava (KA) 11-6, 11-6, 11-4.

U-17: 1-Megha Bhatia (DL) bt 5/8-Uditi Mishra (RJ) 10-12, 11-6, 11-6, 11-6; 3/4-Avani Nagar (MH) bt 2-Aryaa Ogale (MH) 3-11, 11-9, 14-12, 11-3.

U-15: 5/8-Saniya Jaggi (MH) bt 5/8-Shameena Riaz (TN) 8-11, 11-9, 11-4, 7-11, 12-10; 1-Pooja Arthi R (TN) bt S 3/4-Akshaya Sri (TN) 11-5, 7-11, 11-2, 11-6.

U-13: 1-Khushboo (UP) bt 5/8-Ipsa Mishra (MH) 7-11, 8-11, 11-4, 12-10, 11-4; Anahat Singh (DL) bt 2-Nandini Jain (DL) 11-7, 11-7, 11-7.

U-11: 1-Pia Singh (MH) bt 3/4-Vyomika Khandelwal (MH) 7-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-8; 5/8-Anika Dubey (MH) bt Ananya Narayanan (TN) 2-11, 4-11, 12-10, 11-4, 11-6.