Thailand Open 2018: Mixed doubles pair Satwiksairaj-Ashwini Ponnappa advance while other shuttlers exit in qualifiers

Bangkok: Indian shuttlers witnessed a bad day in office in the qualifiers of the Thailand Open even as the mixed doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa entered the second round of the main draw in the $ 350,000 BWF World Tour Super 500 tournament. Shreyansh Jaiswal, Rahul Yadav Chittaboina and Kartikey Gulshan Kumar all crashed out in the second round of men’s singles qualification round, losing in straight sets against their respective opponents. [caption id=“attachment_4710291” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of mixed doubles pair Ashwini Ponnappa and Satwiksairaj Reddy. AP[/caption] While Jaiwal was shown the door by Guangzu Lu of China 7-21 9-21, Chittaboina lost 14-21 12-21-12 against Sitthikom Thammasin of Thailand and Kumar was defeated by Indonesia’s Sony Dwi Kuncoro 21-14 28-26. The lone Indian in the women’s singles qualifier, Sai Uttejitha Rao Chukka also crashed out in the opening round, losing 18-21 9-21 against Yulia Yosephin Susanto of Indonesia. However, Ponnappa and Rankireddy defeated Indonesian pair of Akbar Bintang Cahyono and Winny Oktavina Kandow 19-21 21-14 21-17 in a tough three-setter to progress to the second round of the main draw. But another Indian mixed doubles pair of Venkat Gaurav Prasad and Juhi Dewangan lost in the opening round of qualifiers against Indonesia’s Irfan Pia Zebadiah Bernadet 10-21 12-21. The mixed doubles main draw started after the qualifiers played in the morning. In the men’s doubles qualifiers, Anilkumar Raju and Venkat Gaurav Prasad entered the second round, beating local pair of Chaloempon Charoenkitamorn and Charongrat Nobsamrong 21-19 21-13.