Badminton: Satwik-Chirag, Meiraba enter quarterfinals of Thailand Open

Maisnam Meiraba Luwang who won the Iran Fajr International and India International in 2022, will face world champion and local hero Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the quarterfinal.

FILE PHOTO: Satwik and Chirag defeated Xie Sao Nan and Zeng Wei Han 21-16 and 21-11. | Photo Credit: AP

Continuing their splendid run, young Indian shuttler Maisnam Meiraba Luwang and star men’s doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty advanced to the quarterfinal of the Thailand Open Super 500 here on Thursday.

A day after his upset win over compatriot HS Prannoy, the 21-year-old Meiraba, who trains at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy, eliminated Denmark’s Mads Christophersen 21-14 and 22-20 in the men’s singles second-round clash that lasted 50 minutes.

Meiraba, who won the Iran Fajr International and India International in 2022, will face a litmus test when he takes on world champion and local hero Kunlavut Vitidsarn next.

World number 3 Indian pair of Satwik and Chirag defeated Xie Sao Nan and Zeng Wei Han, ranked 69th, 21-16 and 21-11 in their second-round match.

The Asian Games gold medallists will next face Malaysia’s Junaidi Arif and Roy King Yap.

Among other Indians, Ashmita Chaliha’s gruelling fight ended in a narrow loss as she went down 15-21, 21-12 and 12-21 to top-seeded Chinese Han Yue in women’s singles.

In mixed doubles, Sathish Karunakaran and Aadya Variyath lost 10-21 17-21 to Rinov Rivaldy and Pitha Haningtyas Mentari to bow out of the competition.