Sheffield, Jan 5 (IANS): India's Mahesh Mangaonkar and Kush Kumar entered the semi-finals of the British Junior Open boys Under-19 and U-17 categories respectively, here Friday.

Mangaonkar defeated Egypt's Shehab Essam 9-11, 11-4, 11-4, 11-9 in 57 minutes, while Kush Kumar ousted Malaysian Mohd Syafiq Kamal 11-3, 11-13, 11-9, 11-8 after a 47-minute workout.

Essam won the first game against Mahesh by playing hard straight drives and not giving the Indian a chance to drop or volley. Mahesh stuck with his plan and kept the pace high to finally wear down his opponent.

Kush seemed in total control after winning the first game, leading 7-4 in the second when he became defensive and lost the game in extra points. Kush regained his confidence and won the next two games.

Earlier in the day, Aparajitha Balamurukan squandered a two-game advantage against higher ranked and home favourite Victoria Temple-Murray who won the girls Under-19 quarter-final 10-12, 8-11, 11-9, 11-3, 11-9 in 41 minutes.

Unseeded Velavan Senthilkumar (boys U-17) and Lakshya Ragavendran (girls U-15) lost to their higher seeded opponents. Jordan's Mohammad Alsarraj beat Velavan 12-10, 10-12, 11-6, 11-8, while Egyptian Mariam Metwaly overcame Lakshya 11-5, 11-9, 11-7.