Satwik-Chirag sail into second round of Thailand Open

Bangkok: Star Indian pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty progressed to the men’s doubles pre-quarterfinals of Thailand Open badminton tournament with a straight-game win over the Malaysian duo of Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub Azriyn and Tan Wee Kiong here on Wednesday.

The top seeded Indian combination took just 34 minutes to get past the Malaysian pair 21-13 21-13 in the opening round match.

Satwik and Chirag will play the Chinese pair of Xie Hao Nan and Zeng Wei Han in the next round.

Ashmita Chaliha came from behind to enter the second round of the women’s singles competition with a hard-fought 19-21 21-15 21-14 win over Ester Nurumi Tri Wardoyo of Indonesia in the opening round.

But a tough second round encounter awaits Ashmita as she will be up against top seed Han Yue of China.

Yue got the better of another Indian in Malvika Bansod, registering a comfortable 21-11 21-10 win.