Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal crashed out in the second round of Thailand Open after being stunned by unseeded Sayaka Takahashi of Japan in the women’s singles event in Bangkok today. Seventh seed Saina, who returned to action after nearly two months, squandered a game advantage to lose 21-16, 11-21, 14-21 against Takahashi.
In the absence of P.V. Sindhu, who withdrew in the last minute from the event, Saina’s ouster marks the end of India’s campaign in the women’s singles. In men’s singles, Kidambi Srikanth also crashed out as he lost to Khosit Phetpradab of Thailand 21-11, 16-21, 12-21 in the second round of the tournament. Parupalli Kashyap was also knocked out.
Kashyap lost to Chou Tien-chen of China 9-21, 14-21. However, it was good news for India in the men’s doubles event as the pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty moved into the quarterfinals after registering a straight-game 21-17, 21-19 win over Indonesian combination of Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto. The India duo will next play qualifiers Choi Solgyu and Seo Seung Jae of Korea tomorrow.