Bangkok, Jan 22 (UNI) India's mixed doubles duo Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa entered the semifinals of the Toyota Thailand Open badminton tournament after beating fifth seeded Malaysian pair Peng Soon Chan and Liu Ying Goh in a hard-fought contest, here on Friday.
Rankireddy and Ponappa outclassed their opponents 18-21 24-22 22-20 in a nail-bitting quarterfinal contest which lasted for one hour and 15 minutes.
The Indian pair will now face the winners of the last quarterfinal match between top seeds Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai of Thailand and Korean duo of Sung Hyun Ko and Hye Won Eom.
Meanwhile, ace Indian shuttler PV Sindhu will take on Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon in the women’s singles quarterfinals, while Sameer Verma will play third seed Anders Antonsen of Denmark in the men’s singles last-eight round later in the day.
In the men's doubles quarterfinals, the Indian pair Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will face Malaysia's Yew Sin Ong and Ee Yi Teo.
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