Thailand Open: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Ashwini Ponappa enter mixed doubles semifinals with upset win

India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponappa stunned fifth seeds Peng Soon Chan and Liu Ying Goh of Malaysia in a hard-fought three-game contest to enter the mixed doubles semifinals of the Toyota Thailand Open badminton tournament here on Friday.

The unseeded Indian pair toiled hard for one hour and 15 minutes to beat their world no. 6 Malaysian opponents 18-21 24-22 22-20 in a nail-bitting quarterfinal duel.

Rankireddy and Ponappa, world no. 22, will be up against the winners of the last quarterfinal match between top seeds Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai of Thailand and Korean duo of Sung Hyun Ko and Hye Won Eom.

Sixth seed Indian PV Sindhu will take on Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon, seeded fourth, in the women’s singles quarterfinals, while Sameer Verma will play third seed Anders Antonsen of Denmark in the men’s singles last-eight round later in the day.

Rankireddy will then team up with Chirag Shetty to face Malaysia’s Yew Sin Ong and Ee Yi Teo in the men’s doubles quarterfinals.