Indian men’s doubles duo Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy progressed to the second round of the Thailand Open 2024 badminton tournament, while HS Prannoy suffered a shock defeat against compatriot Meiraba Maisnam in Bangkok on Wednesday.
Shetty and Rankireddy secured victory over Malaysia’s Tan Wee Kiong and Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub, ranked 71st in the world, with a 21-13, 21-13 scoreline in a 34-minute match. They are set to face China’s Xie Hao Nan and Zeng Wei Han in the Round of 16.
In men’s singles, India’s top player HS Prannoy, ranked 9th, was defeated by Meiraba Maisnam, who is ranked 84th, with a score of 21-19, 21-18 in 55 minutes. Maisnam had advanced to the main draw after winning two qualifying rounds on Tuesday. Prannoy has not advanced past the second round on the BWF World Tour since reaching the semi-finals at the India Open in January.
Kiran George also exited from the men’s singles after being defeated by Denmark’s Mads Christophersen with a score of 21-15, 13-21, 21-17. Sathish Kumar Karunakaran lost to Hong Kong China’s Jason Gunawan with a score of 21-13, 21-17.
In the women’s singles, Ashmita Chaliha, ranked 51st in the world, came from behind to defeat Ester Nurumu Tri Wardoyo 19-21, 21-15, 21-14 in a 54-minute match. She was the only Indian woman to advance to the second round of the BWF Super 500 event.
Unnati Hooda, Malvika Bansod, Aakarshi Kashyap, and Samiya Imad Farooqui did not progress past the opening round in the women’s singles. Hooda was defeated by European Games silver medallist Lianne Tan of Belgium with a score of 14-21, 21-14, 21-9, while Bansod was beaten by China’s Han Yue, ranked 7th in the world, with a score of 21-11, 21-10 in 28 minutes.
Aakarshi Kashyap lost 21-13, 21-8 against Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrungphan, and Samiya Imad Farooqui was defeated 21-13, 21-13 by Chinese shuttler Gao Fangjie.
In the women’s doubles, Nishu Rapria and Nikki Rapria lost to compatriots Rutaparna and Swetaparna Panda with a score of 21-9, 21-5, while Unnati Hooda and Palak Arora retired and conceded the match against China’s Keng Shu Liang and Zhang Chi after losing the first game 21-6.
