Satwiksairaj-Ashwini, Jayaram crash out Swiss Open

BASEL: Indian mixed doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa's fine run in the ongoing Swiss Open came to a disappointing end after a defeat in the quarter-finals on Friday.

Satwiksairaj and Ashwini showed top-notch fighting spirit before going down to World No 13 and No 5 pair -Tan Kian Meng and Lai Pei Jing of Malaysia in three sets 17-21, 21-16, 18-21. Satwiksairaj and Ashwini had staged the comeback after being losing the first set but the Malaysian duo diffused the Indian attack to seal a place in the semi-finals.

In the singles match, Ajay Jayaram's fine run at the Swiss Open Super 300 came to an end with the defeat against Thai badminton player Kunlavut Vitidsarn.

The shuttler from Thailand thrashed the India badminton player in two straight sets 21-9, 21-6. Ajay had displayed some sensational performances in the ongoing showpiece event but wasn't able to recreate the show on Friday.

Earlier, ace Indian shuttlers Saina Nehwal and Parupalli Kashyap had a disappointing start as they crashed out of the Swiss Open in the first round on Wednesday.

Olympic medalist Nehwal lost in a tough-fought clash against Thailand's Phittayaporn Chaiwan 16-21, 21-17, 21-23 that lasted for 58 minutes, while Nehwal's husband Kashyap lost to lower-ranked Pablo Abian of Spain 15-21, 10-21 in straight games. Agencies

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