Saina loses; Sindhu, Ajay, Prannoy win in China

Saina Nehwal’s comeback ended with a gruelling opening round loss but Olympic silver-medallist P V Sindhu crossed the first hurdle at the USD 700,000 China Super Series Premier here on Wednesday.

Three months after limping out of the Rio Olympics, fourth seed Saina’s fight against Thailand’s Porntip Buranaprasertsuk ended with a 16-21, 21-19, 14-21 loss in a women’s singles 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. 

-In men’s singles, Ajay Jayaram and H S Prannoy also reached the second round after notching up contrasting wins over their respective opponents in the opening round.

World No. 23 Jayaram prevailed over China’s Zhu Siyuan 21-19, 20-22, 21-17 in a match that lasted for an hour and two minutes. World No. 28 Prannoy got rid of Hong Kong’s NG Ka Long Angus 21-13, 21-13 in another match.