China Open: Sindhu Wins Opener, Saina Nehwal Crashes Out

PV Sindhu on the other hand, reached the pre-quarters after beating World No 39 Saena Kawakami 21-15, 21-13.

• Saina Nehwal lost 22-20, 8-21, 14-21 to Korea’s Sung Ji Hyun in the first round of the China Open.
• PV Sindhu entered the pre-quarters after beating Saena Kawakami of Japan 21-15, 21-13 in the opening round.

Saina Nehwal crashed out of the China after losing to South Korea’s Sung Ji Hyun in the first round, while PV Sindhu entered the pre-quarters on Tuesday, 18 September.

Two-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist Saina, who was the first Indian to win the China title in 2014, lost 22-20 8-21 14-21 to Korea's Sung Ji Hyun in a 48-minute opener.

After winning a bronze at the Asian Games, Nehwal had pulled out of the Japan Open earlier this month.

Sindhu in Pre-Quarters

Olympic and world championship silver-medallist Sindhu, who had clinched the China Open title in 2016, defeated World No 39 Saena Kawakami of Japan 21-15, 21-13 in the opening round.

The women's singles match between Sindhu and Saena started out as a close contest before the Indian broke off to grab a 13-7 lead at one stage.

She kept dominating the rallies and pocketed the opening game without much trouble.

In the second game, Sindhu zoomed to a 6-0 lead but Saena managed to make it 8-10 before the Indian entered the interval with a slender 11-9 lead.

After the break, Sindhu jumped to 15-11 before grabbing eight match points at 20-12 and sealed it comfortably.

Men's doubles pair of Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy, the national champions, defeated Chinese Taipei's Liao Min Chun and Su Ching Heng 13-21 21-13 21-12 in 39 minutes to enter the second round.