India’s B Sumeeth Reddy and N Sikki Reddy advanced to the second round of mixed doubles at the Hong Kong Open on Wednesday, defeating compatriots Tarun Kona and Sri Krishna Priya Kudaravalli 21-9, 21-10 in a swift 22-minute match.
The husband-wife duo will face a tougher challenge next, as they prepare to take on the eighth-seeded Malaysian pair, Masgoh Soon Huat and Lai Shevon Jemie, in the Super 500 tournament.
However, the day wasn’t as successful for other Indian players at the Hong Kong Open. Priyanshu Rajawat, Aakarshi Kashyap, and Tanya Hemanth made early exits. Aakarshi fell 15-21, 9-21 to Japan’s fifth-seed Aya Ohori, while Tanya Hemanth fought hard but lost 16-21, 21-26 against Indonesia’s Komang Ayu Cahya Dewi. In mixed doubles, Ashith Surya and Amrutha Pramuthesh also couldn’t progress beyond the first round.
Meanwhile, Indian shuttlers had a brighter showing at the Vietnam Open in Ho Chi Minh City. Alap Mishra, Tharun Mannepalli, and Bharat Raghav advanced to the men’s singles pre-quarterfinals.
Alap overcame top-seed Sathish Kumar Karunakaran 21-16, 20-22, 21-13, while Tharun staged a comeback to beat Chinese Taipei’s Ting Yen-Chen 15-21, 21-17, 21-18. Bharat Raghav also clinched a victory in a tightly contested match against fifth-seed Meiraba Luwang Maisnam, winning 21-19, 20-22, 21-16.
In women’s singles, Isharani Baruah and Rakshitha Sree Santosh Ramraj progressed to the second round. Isharani pulled off a notable upset by defeating second-seed Anupama Upadhyaya 21-7, 17-21, 21-15, while Rakshitha took down sixth-seed Rachel Chan 21-13, 22-20.
Several Indian doubles teams also moved forward, with top-seeds Sathish Kumar Karunakaran and Aadya Variyath, and the sixth-seeded duo of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto qualifying for the second round. Additionally, Priya Konjengbam, Shruti Mishra, Bokka Navaneeth, and Ritika Thaker made it through in mixed doubles, while the men’s doubles pair of Pruthvi Krishnamurthy Roy and Vishnuvardhan Goud Panjala reached the pre-quarterfinals.
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