Mixed doubles pair Ashwini Ponnappa and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy stunned Indonesian second seeded pair Hafiz Faizal and Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja on Tuesday.
Rankireddy and Ponnappa defeated the World no. 8 pair in straight games 21-18, 21-10 in the encounter that lasted for 38 minutes. Indian pair will now proceed to the second round of the tournament.
“I’m happy that we broke into the top 20. In 2019 we could not play too many tournaments as I was injured and because of the Covid-19 pandemic," said 31-year-old Ashwini, who trains in Bengaluru.
The unseeded Indian pair registered a 18-21, 24-22, 22-20 win over their world number six opponents in a nail-biting quarter-final clash which lasted for an hour and 15 minutes.