Thailand Open 2024: Meiraba continues his dominant run; Satwik-Chirag cruise into quarterfinal

Meiraba defeated Denmark’s Mads Christophersen in straight games.

The Indian contingent continued to impress at the Thailand Open 2024 on Thursday, with young gun Meiraba Luwang Maisnam and the star men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty advancing to the quarter-finals.

A day after his giant-killing win over compatriot HS Prannoy, the 21-year-old Meiraba delivered another stellar performance, ousting Denmark’s Mads Christophersen 21-14, 22-20 in a grueling 50-minute second round clash. The Prakash Padukone Academy trainee will next face a daunting challenge against world champion and local hero Kunlavut Vitidsarn.

In the men’s doubles, the World No. 3 Indian pair of Rankireddy and Shetty maintained their sublime form, dispatching China’s Xie Sao Nan and Zeng Wei Han 21-16, 21-11 in just 38 minutes. The Asian Games gold medalists will take on Malaysia’s Junaidi Arif and Roy King Yap next for a semi-final berth.

However, it was curtains for Ashmita Chaliha and the mixed doubles duo of Sathish Karunakaran and Aadya Variyath. Chaliha put up a gritty fight before bowing out 15-21, 21-12, 12-21 to top seed Han Yue.

In women’s doubles, Rutaparna Panda and Swetaparna Panda were defeated by Japan’s number 2 seeds, Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi, in straight sets, with scores of 21-16, 21-13. Meanwhile, the number 4 seeds, Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto, triumphed over Taiwan’s Hung En-Tzu and Lin Yu-Pei, who are ranked 52nd in the world, winning in straight sets, 21-19, 21-17.

Ashwini and Tanisha will now face the number 6 seeds, Lee Yu Lim and Shin Seung Chan from Korea, in the quarterfinals.

In mixed doubles, Sathish Kumar Karunakaran and Aadya Variyath squared off against the second-seeded Indonesian pair, Rinov Rivaldy and Pitha Haningtyas Mentari. The opening game was a close contest, with the score tied at 19-19. However, simultaneous errors from both Indian players cost them a crucial game point, ultimately leading to a 21-19 game loss.

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In the second game, the Indian duo initially trailed 12-17 but fought back with impressive rallies, closing the gap to 16-17. A delay in play by Rivaldy resulted in a yellow card. Regrettably, India lost momentum when Sathish made a costly forehand error. Despite their valiant efforts, Indonesia secured three match points at 20-17 and clinched the match following a service return error from Sathish.

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