Ponnappa and Satwik knock out 2nd-seeded Indonesian pair in Swiss Open first round

The Indian mixed doubles pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy caused a big upset at the Swiss Open as they knocked out the second seeds in the first round on Tuesday. The World No. 19 duo triumphed 21-18, 21-10 over Hafiz Faizal and Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja of Indonesia in a contest lasting 38 minutes.

Ponnappa-Satwik continue good form from Thailand Open

The Indian pair continued their good form after making the semi-finals of the Thailand Open in January. Against Faizal and Widjaja at the Swiss Open, the Ponnappa-Satwiksairaj combine broke away from a 16-16 tie to clinch the first game 21-18.

Staged a Coup!@P9Ashwini and @satwiksairaj staged a huge upset as they defeated World No 8 and second-seeded Hafiz Faizal /Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja by 21-18, 21-10 in the opening round of @yonexswissopen. Kudos Guys. Keep the momentum. #badminton #RoadToTokyo pic.twitter.com/ZIPgtklRdw

— BAI Media (@BAI_Media) March 2, 2021

The Indians came out all guns blazing in the second game and raced to an 11-6 lead before bagging it, 21-10.

Ponnappa and Satwik will aim to keep the momentum going when they meet Rinov Rivaldy and Pitha Haningtyas Mentari in the second round of the Swiss Open.

Sikki Reddy-Pranaav Jerry suffer a disappointing loss

N Sikki Reddy and Pranaav Jerry Chopra, however, didn't have any such luck in their Swiss Open opener. They lost to the third-seeded pair of Marcus Ellis and Lauren Smith 18-21,15-21, despite putting up a stiff fight.

Several leading Indian shuttlers will be competing in the men’s singles, women's singles, and doubles events on Wednesday.

P V Sindhu will kickstart her Swiss Open campaign on Wednesday.

Swiss Open is a qualifying event for the Tokyo Olympics

The Swiss Open tournament will serve as one of the many badminton qualifiers for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. India's women's singles hopes will rest on PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal, who could possibly face each other in the semi-finals.

🥁🤩 The journey to #RoadtoTokyo begins today with the first #OlympicQualifier tournament @yonexswissopen taking off in Basel 🇨🇭. Recap of the shuttlers who are on the verge of the qualification. Watch👇#IndiaontheRise pic.twitter.com/KvtkyOBbue

— BAI Media (@BAI_Media) March 2, 2021

Former Swiss Open champion Kidambi Srikanth and fifth-seed Sai Praneeth will spearhead the Indian challenge in the men's singles events.

The duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will be the star attraction in men's doubles.