P Kashyap reaches Korea Masters Grand Prix Gold quarters after thrilling win

Jeju (South Korea): Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap reached the quarterfinals of the Korea Masters Grand Prix Gold after notching up a thrilling three-game win over China’s Zhou Zeqi in the men’s singles competition at Jeju on Thursday. [caption id=“attachment_3146482” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File photo of P Kashyap. Getty Images[/caption] On a comeback trail, Kashyap defeated Zhou 21-11 13-21 21-8 in a match that lasted 45 minutes. Kashyap will next take on local shuttler and sixth seed, Jeon Hyeok Jin. The shuttler from Hyderabad walked away with the first game after opening a slender 3-1 lead early on. Then slowly and steadily, he crafted his way before reeling off five straight points to earn the bragging rights. In the second game, however, Zeqi turned the tables as he zoomed to a 11-6 lead, and despite Kashyap narrowing the margin to 12-13, the Chinese marched ahead to roar back into the contest. Jolted by his Zhou’s performance, Kashyap changed gears to move to a 8-3 lead in the decider and didn’t give any chance to his Chinese rival. He continued his domination to seal a place in the quarters. Kashyap had reached the pre-quarterfinals of the Macau Grand Prix Gold, but was ousted after losing 13-21 20-22 to Lin Yu Hsien of Chinese Taipei earlier this month. Kashyap had recovered from multiple injuries and then had taken a break after the Denmark Open to work on his fitness and game.