Thailand Open 2024: India's Maisnam Meiraba stuns HS Prannoy to enter pre-quarterfinals, Satwik-Chirag also through to the next round
The Thailand Open 2024 commenced yesterday, May 14t, in Bangkok, Thailand. The second day of the tournament saw some unexpected results and remarkable performances by Indian shuttlers.
One of the most surprising outcomes of the day came in the men's singles category, where India's top men's singles player, HS Prannoy, faced a shocking defeat against compatriot Meiraba Maisnam.
Meiraba was the only Indian men’s singles player to make it to the second round. Apart from Meiraba, India’s top men’s doubles pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, women’s singles shuttler Ashmita Chaliha and the women’s doubles pair of Rutaparna Panda and Swetaparna Panda also secured wins.
A closer look at some of the matches at the Thailand Open 2024: (Indians only)
In what was arguably the biggest upset in the tournament so far, ranked 84th in the world, 21-year-old Indian shuttler Maisnam Meiraba beat World No. 9 HS Prannoy in straight games to secure a place in the pre-quarterfinals.
Outplaying Prannoy, Meiraba took just under an hour to beat his opponent 21-19, 21-18. Prannoy's early exit adds to his struggles on the BWF World Tour since the start of the year.
Before taking on Prannoy, Meiraba battled his way through the qualifying rounds to secure a place in the main draw. He beat Shashwat Dalal in the first round of qualifying before getting the better of Malaysia’s Kok Jing Hong to book his place in the main draw. Meiraba will now face Denmark’s Mads Christophersen in the pre-quarterfinals.
In the men's doubles category, the top-seeded duo of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy comfortably defeated Malaysia's Tan Wee Kiong and Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub in straight sets to secure their place in the round of 16. Rankireddy and Shetty will now take on Xie H. N. and Zeng W. H. of China in the second round.
Meanwhile, in the women's singles category, Ashmita Chaliha emerged as the sole Indian woman to advance to the second round. Despite going down in the first set, Chaliha showcased remarkable resilience and staged a comeback to defeat higher-ranked Ester Nurumi Tri Wardoyo with a score of 19-21, 21-15, 21-14. Chaliha will now take on top seed Han Yue in the second round.
The journey for other Indian shuttlers in the women's singles category ended in the opening round. Unnati Hooda, Malvika Bansod, Aakarshi Kashyap, and Samiya Imad Farooqui all went down in their respective matches at the Super 500 event.
Thailand Open 2024: Results at the end of day two (Indians only)
Ashmita Chaliha (India) beat Ester Nurumi Tri Wardoyo (Indonesia) 19-21, 21-15, 21-14
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty (India) beat Tan Wee Kiong and Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub (Malaysia) 21-13, 21-13
Malvika Bansod (India) lost to Han Yue (China) 11-21, 10-21
Unnati Hooda (India) lost to Lianne Tan (Belgium) 21-14, 14-21, 9-21
Kiran George (India) lost to Mads Christophersen (Denmark) 15-21, 21-13, 17-21
Maisnam Meiraba (India) beat HS Prannoy (India) 21-19, 21-18
Samiya Imad Farooqui (India) lost to Gao Fang Jie (China) 13-21, 13-21
Aakarshi Kashyap (India) lost to Busanan Ongbamrungphan (Thailand) 13-21, 8-21
Sathish Karunakaran (India) lost to J. Gunawan (Hong Kong) 13-21, 17-21
Rutaparna Panda and Swetaparna Panda (India) beat Nikki Rapria and Nishu Rapria (India) 9-21, 5-21
Palak Arora and Unnati Hooda (India) lost to Keng Shu Liang and Zhang Chi (China) 6-21, 4-5 (retd.)