Indian shuttling icon PV Sindhu has been knocked out of the ongoing YONEX Thailand Open Super 1000 after losing to Danish badminton star Mia Blichfeldt in the first round on Tuesday.
Despite winning the first game of the heavily-contested 74-minute match, PV Sindhu lost the remaining rounds as Blichfeldt fought back stronger, winning the 2nd and 3rd rounds back to back, handing Sindhu a 21-16, 24-26, 13-21 defeat.
Sindhu was India’s only hope in the women’s singles division of Thailand Open as her compatriot and fellow badminton stalwart Saina Nehwal dropped out of the event after testing positive for COVID-19. Alongside Nehwal, HS Prannoy has also tested positive.
In the first round, Sindhu took an early 6-3 lead and held onto it till the end. Even though she also went up 11-8 in the second round, Blichfeldt bounced back harder, taking the lead at 15-14 and never allowed Sindhu to catch up.
In the third and decider round, the 23-year-old Dane showed utter domination as Sindhu fell behind with a 7-point deficit.
Alongside Sindhu, B Sai Praneeth also suffered a 2-round defeat against Thailand’s Kantaphon Wangcharoen in the men’s singles, losing the match 16-21, 10-21.
On the other hand, mixed doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa advanced into the second round, thanks to a stunning 21-11, 27-29, 21-16 victory over the Indonesian pair of Hafiz Faizal and Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja.
(more to come)
Do you want to play Casino games online? Click here to find a range of online casino brands
If you like reading about MMA, make sure you check out MMAIndia.com
Also, follow India’s biggest arm wrestling tournament at ProPanja.com
