Bangkok: Ace Indian shuttler
Saina Nehwal crashed out of the Thailand Open in the second round while Kidambi
Srikanth forfeited his match with an injury as the Indian challenge came to an
end on Thursday.
Mixed doubles pair Ashwini Ponnappa and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy were the last Indian contenders to be knocked out of the tournament, losing 21-12, 21-17 to Hong Kong's Tak Ching Chang and Wing Yung Ng.
Saina lost 23-21, 14-21, 16-21 to local Busanan Ongbamrungphan in a match that lasted for 68 minutes to bow out of the Super 1000 tournament.
Saina started the first game well but she squandered some chances and conceded a 9-11 lead at the mid-game break. However, the Olympic bronze medallist came back strong and used all her experience to take the first game 23-21 in 26 minutes.
Ongbamrungphan then staged a stunning comeback and didn't let her Indian opponent rule the next game, winning it 14-21 and taking the match into the decider.
In the final game, the Thai upped her game by a notch and won 21-16 to enter the quarterfinals.
In the previous round, Saina had registered a comfortable 21-15, 21-15 win over Kisona Selvaduray of Malaysia.
With Saina's loss, India's challenge in the women's singles event has come to an end at the tournament. Sixth-seeded PV Sindhu had lost her opening round match 21-16, 24-26, 13-21 to world No.18 Mia Blichfeldt on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, in men's singles, Kidambi Srikanth also pulled out of the tournament before the start of his second-round match due to a calf muscle strain. Kidambi was slated to face Malaysia's Lee Zii Jia but the latter will go through with the Indian pulling out and offering a walkover. Agencies