India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa recorded shocking victories in the first match of the mixed doubles at the Swiss Open Badminton Championships. In the men’s singles, Kidambi Srikkanth reached the second round.
Hafiz Faizal and Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja of Indonesia, ranked third in the world, were defeated by Sattvik and Ashwini 21-18, 21-10 in two straight games. The same second seeded pair defeated Sattvik-Ashwini in the semifinals of the Thailand Badminton Championships in January. In the second round, Sattvik-Ashwini will be challenged by Indonesia’s Rinov Rivaldy and Pitha Haningtyas Mentari.
Playing alongside Chirag Shetty in the men’s doubles, Sattvik defeated Christopher Grimley and Matthew Grimley of Scotland 21-18, 19-21, 21-16.
In the men’s singles, Srikanth beaten India’s Sameer Verma 18-21, 21-18, 21-11 to make a winning start to his campaign. In the second round of the tournament, which is important for Olympic qualification, Srikanth will face Thomas Rouxel of France. Mark Calijouw of the Netherlands defeated HS Prannoy 21-19, 9-21, 21-17 in three games to end his challenge.
