Kashyap, Mutatkar reach Austrian Challenge quarters

New Delhi: India`s Aditi Mutatkar advanced to the women`s singles quarterfinals of the Austrian International Challenge badminton event in Vienna Friday, defeating Alesia Zaitsava of Belarus 22-20, 22-20.

Men`s top seed Parupalli Kashyap defeated Denmark`s Emil Holst 21-18, 21-12 to reach the quarterfinals. He next plays sixth seed Zi Liang Derek Wong of Hong Kong. Mutatkar edged out Zaitsava in a second round match lasting 41 minutes. The Indian meets Turkey`s Yigit Neslihan in the last eight. Neha Pandit and P.C. Thulasi, however, crashed out of the competition. Qualifier Pandit lost to top seed Tsz Ka Chan of Hong Kong 15-21, 21-15, 18-21 while Thulasi went down to Singapore`s Aiying Xing 7-21, 13-21. IANS