Satwik-Chirag sail into Thailand Open second round, Prannoy loses

BANGKOK — Star Indian pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty progressed to the men’s doubles pre-quarterfinals but it was curtains for fifth seed HS Prannoy after being stunned by compatriot Meiraba Luwang Maisnam in the men’s singles opening round of Thailand Open here on Wednesday.

Top seeds Satwik and Chirag took just 34 minutes to get past the Malaysian pair of Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub Azriyn and Tan Wee Kiong 21-13 21-13 in the opening round.

The Indian combination of Satwik and Chirag will play the Chinese pair of Xie Hao Nan and Zeng Wei Han in the next round.

But Prannoy failed to clear the first hurdle, losing 19-21 18-21 to Meiraba in a match lasting 55 minutes.

Meiraba will take on Denmark’s Mads Christophersen, who beat India’s Kiran George 21-15 13-21 21-17.

In women’s singles, Ashmita Chaliha came from behind to enter the second round of with a hard-fought 19-21 21-15 21-14 win over Ester Nurumi Tri Wardoyo of Indonesia.

But a tough second round encounter awaits Ashmita as she will be up against top seed Han Yue of China.

Yue got the better of another Indian in Malvika Bansod, registering a comfortable 21-11 21-10 win.

Unnati Hooda also failed to cross the opening round as she squandered a game advantage to lose 21-14 14-21 9-21 against Lianne Tan of Belgium.

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