Saina Bows Out in First Round of Asia C’ships, Sindhu Advances
Saina Nehwal lost to Japan’s Sayaka Sato in the opening round of the Badminton Asia Championships.
India’s ace shuttler Saina Nehwal suffered a shock defeat to Japan’s Sayaka Sato (unseeded) in the first round of the Badminton Asia Championships in Wuhan, China on Wednesday. The World Number 8 went down 21-19, 16-21, 18-21 to her Japanese opponent.
While Nehwal bowed out of the tournament, World Number 3 PV Sindhu advanced to the next round after beating Indonesia's Dinar Dyah Ayustine 21-8, 21-8 in just 31 minutes.
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Nehwal, who has been struggling to find her rhythm after her return from injury in November last year, had a 6-1 head-to-head record against Sayaka Sato before the match.
India’s mixed doubles pair of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and N Sikki Reddy were also knocked out in the first round of the tournament after losing 15-21, 21-14, 16-21 to China’s Zheng Siwei and Chen Qingchen.
Ajay Jayaram defeated fifth seeded Houwei Tian of China 21-18, 18-21, 21-19 to progress to the second round of the men's singles event.
The 2015 Swiss Open champion HS Prannoy lost a gruelling battle against eighth seeded Ng Ka Long Angus, going down 16-21, 21-13, 19-21 to the Hong Kong player.
In women's doubles, Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold finalists Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy lost 20-22 16-21 to Korean combo of Chae Yoo Jung and Kim So Yeong in a 37-minute clash.
In men's doubles, Rio Olympians Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy lost 9-21, 18-21 to Chinese pair of Fu Haifeng and Zhang Nan.
(With inputs from PTI)
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