Badminton Asia C’ships: Ashwini Ponnappa-Sumeeth Reddy upset world No 20 pair in mixed doubles

Ashwini Ponnappa and B Sumeeth Reddy pulled off an upset win in the opening round of mixed doubles main draw as they defeated Hong Kong’s Tang Chun Man and Tse Ying Suet in straight games on Tuesday, as Badminton Asia Championships got underway in Dubai.

The Indian pair, ranked 90 in the world currently but been 47 in the past during an earlier stint together, defeated the world No 20 Tang-Tse 21-16, 21-17 in an impressive display of mixed doubles badminton.

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It is Ashwini and Sumeeth’s first win against a top-20 pair in their current stint, with the last one coming back in 2017. The Indians were originally part of the qualification groups but were promoted to the main draw.

Earlier in the day, during the other qualification matches, only the pairing of Rohan Kapoor and N Sikki Reddy moved up successfully into the main draw.

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XD round of 32

???? A big win for @P9Ashwini Ponnappa and @buss_reddy Reddy as they defeat world No 20 Tang Chun Man and Tse Ying Suet to enter the round of 16. https://t.co/kR6c9x04Dg pic.twitter.com/Szrq53rgLZ— The Field (@thefield_in) April 25, 2023

On Wednesday, the rest of the Indian contingent will begin their campaigns, as opening round matches come to a...

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