Indian shuttlers N. Sikki Reddy and Rohan Kapoor advanced to the Vietnam Open 2022 mixed doubles semi-finals after beating Malaysia’s Cheah Yee See and Chan Peng Soon, here on Friday.
The Indian pair, which came into the BWF Super 100 badminton event winning the India Chhattisgarh International Challenge 2022 last week, took 39 minutes to defeat their higher-ranked opponents 21-19, 21-17 in the quarterfinals.
Until the first break, there was little that separated the two teams. From the scores 11-11, the Malaysians stepped up to build a three-point at 17-14. Thereafter, N. Sikki and Rohan won seven of the following nine points to make it 1-0.
The second game continued to be a close contest with the Indian pair trailing 11-10 at the break. However, like the first game, a series of consecutive points from Sikki and Rohan ultimately helped them seal the contest.
The Indian duo of Reddy and Kapoor will take on the world No. 35 pair of Lisa Ayu Kusumawati and Rehan Naufal Kusharjanto of Indonesia in the semifinals on Saturday. They are India’s only remaining challenge at the Vietnam Open.
World championships bronze medallist B. Sai Praneeth, junior world No. 2 Anupama Upadhyaya, and Thomas Cup-winner Priyanshu Rajawat crashed out early in the tournament.
