Thailand Open: Satwiksairaj-Chirag reach quarterfinals, Meiraba continues dream run
May 16, 2024
Bangkok [Thailand], May 16 : The top Indian men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty advanced to the quarterfinals of the Thailand Open badminton tournament on Thursday.
'Sat-Chi' as the duo is known popularly among fans, made it to the last eight-stage by defeating China's Xie Hao Nan and Zeng Wei Han 21-16, 21-11.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will be aiming to add another Thailand Open title to their tally. They had earlier won it in 2019.
Also, former junior world number two player Meiraba Luwang Maisnam continued his impressive run in the tournament. After upsetting his senior compatriot HS Prannoy in the previous round, he defeated world number 54 Mads Christensen of Denmark 21-14, 22-20 to advance to the quarterfinals. What was special about Meiraba's win was that he overcame a massive deficit in the second game, fought his way back and preserved to clinch a victory.
The Indian women's singles challenge came to an end as Ashmita Chaliha went down fighting to the world number seven Han Yue of China 15-21, 21-12, 12-21. She lost the first game, won the next to set an exciting decider. But she lost the final game in a one-sided manner to lose this second-round match.
India mixed doubles pair of Sathish Kumar Karunakaran and Aadya Varinath lost 21-19, 21-17 to Indonesia's Rinov Rivaldy and Pitha Haningtyas in their second-round game.
Thailand Open is taking place in Bangkok from May 14 to May 19.
