The mixed doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa have qualified for to the main draw of the China Open Superseries Premier. The Indian pair battled to two victories in the qualifying rounds on Tuesday in Fuzhou.
In the first match, Ponnappa and Rankireddy got past Chinese Taipei’s Lee Jhe-Huei and Wu Ti Jung 24-22, 21-7. The duo then edged out Niclas Nohr and Sara Thygesen from Denmark 21-16, 19-21, 22-20 in what was a much tougher game.
The Indians face another Danish duo, Mathias Christiansen and Christinna Pedersen, in the first round of the main draw on Wednesday. Ponappa is also in the women’s double main draw with N Sikki Reddy while Rankireddy will partner Chirag Sen in the men’s doubles.
The China Open Superseries Premier will see leading Indian players Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu, and HS Prannoy, will also be in action from Wednesday. However, world No 2 Kidambi Srikanth has pulled out of the tournament with a muscle strain.