BANGKOK: Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal’s return to the court was shortlived as she crashed out in the second round of Thailand Open after being stunned by unseeded Sayaka Takahashi of Japan in the women’s singles event here on Thursday.
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 second round duel that lasted 48 minutes.
In the absence of PV 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.
Saina had earlier made last-minute withdrawals from Indonesia Open and last week’s Japan Open because of injuries.
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 on Friday.PTI
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