Indian star shuttler Saina Nehwal crashed out of the Indonesia Open after going down against her Chinese opponent Chen Yufei in the second round of the women's singles event on Thursday.
After losing the opening set in an intense battle, the 28-year-old started on a positive note in the second set but failed to maintain it till the end. Consequently, she slumped to an 18-21, 15-21 straight set defeat against the Chinese shuttler.
Meanwhile, PV Sindhu celebrated her birthday with a win after she defeated Japan's Aya Ohori to enter the quarter-finals. In the men's singles, HS PRannoy eked out a three-game victory over Chinese Taipei's Wang Tzu Wei to enter the quarters as well.
Defending champion Kidambi Srikanth bowed out in the first round to Japan's Kento Momota once again after the World No.11 ended Srikanth's campaign in the Malaysia Open as well, making it two two for two.
Saina gave a steady start to the opening game, both the shuttlers were playing at 1-1 each before Nehwal gained a two-point lead in the match opener.
As the game progressed, Saina looked confident of sailing through. However, her 20-year-old opponent was not willing to give up so easily.
Making a strong comeback, Yufei snatched the lead from the Indian shuttler and registered the first set to her name by hitting a great smash.
Like the first set, it was again a good start for Nehwal as she gained an early lead, but this time, Yufei was too quick to take that away from the Indian smasher.
Giving stunning replies to Nehwal's smashes, the young shuttler showed some impressive energy on the court. The game slowly slipped from the grip of the Indian shuttler, as she ended up hitting the net several times during the game.
The score was 14-19 in the favour of the Chinese player, who eventually took the game away from the Saina.
(With ANI Inputs)
