Satwiksairaj-Chirag Shetty duo reaches pre-quarters of Asian Badminton Championships

MANILA: India's top-ranked men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty progressed to the pre-quarterfinals on the opening day of the Asian Badminton Championships in Manila, Philippines on Tuesday.

The third-seeded Indian pair comfortably beat Thai shuttlers Apiluk Gaterahong and Natchanon Tulamok 21-13, 21-9 in 27 minutes to book its spot for the last 16 stage of the continental event which will end on May 1.

Mixed doubles pair of Ishaan Bhatnagar and Tanisha Crasto also made a winning start. The duo, which lifted the title at Syed Modi International, beat the Hong Kong China shuttlers Law Cheuk Him and Yeung Nga Ting 21-15, 21-17 in half an hour.

However, Krishna Prasad Garaga and Vishnuvardhan Goud Panjala lost 10-21, 21-19, 16-21 to Korean pair of Kang Minhyuk and Kim Wonho in 53 minutes and bowed out of the competition.

In the pre-quarterfinals, Satwik and Chirag will face the winner of the first-round match between Indonesian pair of Muhammad Shohibul Fikri and Bagas Maulana and Japanese duo of Akira Koga and Taichi Saito.

The Indian men's doubles pair of M.R. Arjun and Dhruv Kapila lost 16-21, 22-24 to Indonesia's Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto, and mixed doubles pair of Venkat Gaurav Prasad and Juhi Dewangan also lost to Indonesia's Praveen Jordan and Melati Oktavianti 9-21, 13-21.

India's premier singles players Lakshya Sen, P V Sindhu and others will begin their campaign on Wednesday. IANS

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