Fuzhou (China): Saina Nehwal’s comeback ended with a gruelling opening round loss but Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu crossed the first hurdle at the $700,000 China Super Series Premier badminton tournament here Wednesday.
Three months after limping out of the Rio Olympics due to a severe knee injury, fourth seed Saina was back on the court but her fight against Thailand’s Porntip Buranaprasertsuk ended with a 16-21, 21-19, 14-21 loss in a match that lasted for almost an hour.
Seventh seed Sindhu, however, had no problems in disposing off the challenge from Chinese Taipei’s Chia Hsin Lee 21-12, 21-16 in just 34 minutes. She will next face USA’s Beiwen Zhang. “It was a good start… smooth as I expected,” Sindhu said after her match. “I am looking at one match at a time.”
In men’s singles, Ajay Jayaram and HS Prannoy also reached the second round after notching up contrasting wins over their respective opponents.
World No. 23 Jayaram dished out a gritty performance to beat China’s Zhu Siyuan 21-19, 20-22, 21-17 in a 62-minute match.
World No. 28 Prannoy got rid of Hong Kong’s NG Ka Long 21-13, 21-13 in another match. ‘I am sure matches will get tougher as the tournament progresses. But overall I am satisfied with my show today,” Prannoy said.
Press Trust of India