Vietnam Open: N Sikki Reddy- Rohan Kapoor in the semifinals of mixed doubles

The Indians entered the BWF Super 100 badminton tournament last week after a victory at the India Chhattisgarh International Challenge 2022. It took them 39 minutes to defeat their higher-ranked opponents at the Nguyen Du Cultural Sports Club in Ho Chi Minh City.

The first half of the match was a close contest between the two parties. They were tied at 11-11 before the first break, and the Malaysians set up a three-point lead at 17-14. 

Despite the challenges, N Sikki Reddy and Rohan Kapoor clinched seven of the following nine points to make it 1-0. The second game started on a similar note as the first one. 

The Indian pair was trailing 11-10 at the break, but the two players pressed on and won multiple consecutive points, which led to an easy victory.

Who will N Sikki Reddy and Rohan Kapoor meet next?

The winning duo will encounter the world number 35 pair of Lisa Ayu Kusumawati and Rehan Naufal Kusharjanto of Indonesia in the semi-finals on Saturday.

India has pinned its hopes on Reddy and Kapoor now that they are the country's only remaining challenge at the Vietnam Open. 29-year-old N Sikki Reddy has backed up an elaborate history in both doubles and mixed doubles. 

Often partnering up with Ashwini Ponnappa, she has won medals at the Commonwealth Games 2018 and South Asian Games (2016, 2019). Meanwhile, Rohan Kapoor has five titles and four silver medals at the BWF International Challenge.

At the BWF World Tour, the 25-year-old has a bronze medal in mixed doubles Super100. Both players seem to be working well with one another. 

B. Sai Praneeth crashed out of the second round

World championship bronze medallist B. Sai Praneeth, junior world's number two Anupama Upadhyaya, and Thomas Cup-winner Priyanshu Rajawat suffered early round defeats. 

B. Sai Praneeth was visibly struggling against his opponent, fellow countryman Satish Kumar, 21-17 18-21 13-21 in one hour and three minutes on Wednesday. 

The world number 40 went down against a much lower ranked player as Kumar is currently world number 225. The matches are being held at the badminton courts at Nguyen Du Cultural Sports Club in Ho Chi Minh City.