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.

Badminton: Ashwini Ponnappa interview – ‘I’m starting from scratch, ground zero’

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.

On Wednesday, the rest of the Indian contingent will begin their campaigns, as opening round matches come to a close. The highlight of the day is likely to be a clash between Lakshya Sen and Loh Kean Yew, former training partners and both looking to add some sheen to their season. Seeded entries PV Sindhu, HS Prannoy, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty will also be looking to get their campaign off to a winning start.

Full schedule for first day matches here.