Basel, March 3 Indian mixed doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa stunned Indonesian second seeded pair Hafiz Faizal and Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja in the first round of the Swiss Open Super 300 badminton tournament.
Rankireddy and Ashwini, ranked 19 on the world standings, secured a 21-18, 21-10 win over the world no. 8 pair on Tuesday to advance to the second round. They will now face Indonesia's Rinov Rivaldy and Pitha Haningtyas Mentari, who beat Dutch pair Tiles van der Lecq and Deboa Jille 21-13, 21-15.
The Indian pair had earlier beaten Faizal and Widjaja in a thrilling three-game encounter at the Thailand Open in January as well. While that match had lasted an hour and 12 minutes, Rankireddy and Ashwini won Tuesday's match in 38 minutes.
Meanwhile, Pranav Jerry Chopra and N. Sikki Reddy lost to England's third seeded pair Marcus Ellis and Lauren Smith 21-18, 21-15 in 39 minutes. Chopra was playing for the first time since the All England Championships in March 2020.
The first day of the Swiss Open featured only mixed doubles matches. India's top singles players like P.V. Sindhu, Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth will play on Wednesday.
( With inputs from IANS )
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