Tokyo: Odisha’s champion shuttler Pramod Bhagat is in red-hot form at the BWF Para Badminton World Championships, advancing to the semifinals of both SL3 singles and doubles events.
The world No. 2 was made to sweat by Ukraine’s Oleksndr Churkov before coming through 21-17, 21-19 in the quarterfinal clash. Standing between top-seeded Pramod and a berth in the final is home challenger Daisuke Fujihara.
Summer Paralympics gold-medallist and multiple World Championship title-holder Pramod had earlier got the better of Albert Manuel Perez and William Smith in straight games in the group league stage.
In SL3 doubles, the top-seeded pair of Pramod and Manoj Sarkar fought off the spirited resistance of Koreans Joo Dongjae and Shin Kyung-Hwan 21-17, 16-21, 21-10.
Pramod and Manoj will face Frenchmen Guillaume Gailly and Mathieu Thomas in the last-four stage.