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Indian mixed doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa bowed out of the Thailand Open after stumbling to a loss in the second round on Thursday.
The duo had kicked off the Thailand Open with a scintillating win on Tuesday. Satwiksairaj and Ashwini staged an upset in the first round when they defeated Indonesia's Hafiz Faizal and Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja. However, the India pair lost two consecutive sets (12-21, 17-21) against China's Ng Wing Yung and Chang Tak Ching in their second clash. In a match that lasted for just 29 minutes, Satwiksairaj and Ashwini had shown some signs of a comeback during the second set after losing the first but the Chinese duo kept them at bay to move into the third round. Earlier, Indian men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj and Chirag Shetty were knocked out of the tournament after stumbling to a loss in the second round. Also, star India shuttler Saina Nehwal crashed out of the tournament after losing to Busanan Ongbamrungphan on Thursday. Saina got the better of Busanan in the first game, but the Thailand star came from behind to defeat the Indian shuttler 23-21, 14-21, 16-21 in the second round. Meanwhile, Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth has pulled out of the tournament due to a calf muscle strain. Kidambi was slated to lock horns against Malaysia's Lee Zii Jia in the second round, but with the Indian shuttler pulling out, Jia has progressed in the tournament. "Very sad to let you all know that I have been advised to pull out of Thailand Open due to a calf muscle strain. I am hoping to be fit by next week for the next round of the Thailand leg," tweeted Srikanth. (ANI)
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