In the first semifinal, Hersen KS and Jagadeesh posted convincing victories over Inderjit Dihana and Shiva Kumar respectively as Bangalore Division eased past Hubli Division 2-0. While Hersen registered a handsome 21-9, 21-13 win, Jagadeesh was hardly tested in his 21-5, 21-5 triumph.
However, Hubli Workshop made sure a host team stayed in the competition after edging out Railway Protection Force 2-1.
Workshop got off to disastrous when MN Lincoln was unable to pull the strings against MN Joshi in a closely fought 19-21, 12-21 loss. But, Workshop campaign was put back on track by Parthasarathy after he levelled the scores at 1-1 in his 21-12, 21-9 defeat of Nagaraj.
Workshop had to labour hard to confirm their final spot as Parthasarathy combined with team-mate Rajashekar to pull off a nerve-wracking 21-17, 19-21, 22-20 win over Chengappa and MN Joshi.
Results (all semifinals): Bangalore Division bt Hubli Division 2-0 (Hersen KS bt Inderjit Dihana 21-9, 21-13; Jagadeesh bt Shiva Kumar 21-5, 21-5); Hubli Workshop bt Railway Protection Force (RPF) 2-1 (MJ Lincoln lt to MN Joshi 19-21, 12-21; Parthasarathy bt Nagaraj 21-12, 21-9; Parthasarathy/ Rajashekar bt Chengappa/ MN Joshi 21-17, 19-21, 22-20).
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