China Open: Saina Nehwal crashes out of 1st round; PV Sindhu advances

Fuzhou: Saina Nehwal crashed out in the first round of the women's singles category while Olympic medallist P.V. Sindhu won her opening match on a mixed day for Indians at the China Open badminton tournament at the Haixia Olympic Sport Center here on Wednesday. Sindhu coasted to a 21-12, 21-16 win over Chia Hsin Lee of Taiwan in her round of 16 match. Sindhu, who took the bronze medal at the Rio Olympics earlier this year, will face Beiwen Zhang of Singapore in the quarter-finals. Zhang defeated Ya Ching Hsu of Taiwan 21-16, 21-18 in her campaign opener. Sindhu is playing her first tournament since the Rio Olympics. Saina meanwhile, lost to Porntip Buranaprasertsuk of Thailand in a hard fought encounter. The London Olympics bronze medallist lost the opening game before staging a strong fightback to win the second game and level the scores. Porntip, however, dominated the third and decisive game to script a 21-16, 19-21, 21-14 win. Porntip will now take on He Bingjiao of China in her next match. He defeated compatriot Zhang Yiman 20-22, 21-17, 21-19. Saina was playing her first tournament since recovering from a knee surgery she underwent in August after the Rio Olympics. Indians had mixed results in the men's singles section as well. H.S. Prannoy entered the quarter-finals following an easy 21-13, 21-13 win over Ka Long Angus Ng of Hong Kong. Prannoy will take on Bin Qiao of China in the last eight stage. Qiao outclassed Tien Chen Chou of Taiwan 21-11, 21-13 in a one-sided affair. In another men's singles match, Ajay Jayaram went down 21-19, 20-22, 21-17 to Zhu Siyuan of China in an exciting encounter.