This story is from April 28, 2016

Flying start for Saina, Sindhu; Srikanth upset in Badminton Asia Championships

Barring fluent wins by Saina and Sindhu, there was disappointment in store for the Indian squad as rest of the players crashed out in the first round itself. Early loss of Kidambi Srikanth was the most hurting one.
Flying start for Saina, Sindhu; Srikanth upset in Badminton Asia Championships
Saina Nehwal. (AFP Photo
NAGPUR: Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu got off to a flying start in the Badminton Asia Championships at Wuhan in China on Wednesday.
Barring fluent wins by Saina and Sindhu, there was disappointment in store for the Indian squad as rest of the players crashed out in the first round itself. Early loss of Kidambi Srikanth was the most hurting one.
Fifth seed Saina won in just 21 minutes against Fitriani Fitriani of Indonesia.
Saina was in total control as she eke out a 21-16, 21-17 win. She will lock horns with Nitchaon Jindapol of Thailand in the second round on Thursday. Saina has maintained a clean slate against her Thai opponent so far by winning all their six encounters. The Indian ace shouldn't face any problem in negotiating the world No. 25 for a place in the quarterfinals.
Like Saina, Sindhu also raced to victory quickly in her first round outing. The world No. 10 thumped Maria Febe Kusumastuti of Indonesia 21-10, 21-13 in just 30 minutes. Sindhu has a tough second round on Thursday in the form of Tai Tzu Ying. The eighth seed Chinese Taipei girl has been in remarkable touch this season. She has become a nemesis for Saina in the last few years. The talented Tai is leading head-to-head record against Sindhu 3-2. However, the tall Hyderabadi has psychological advantage having beaten Tai in her last meeting in Denmark Open six months ago.
Srikanth was expected to clear his first round against Lee Dong Keun of Korea but he flattered to deceive in a marathon match, which lasted for an hour and 15 minutes. The eighth seed won the first game quite easily but could not stop an inspired Korean in the next two games.
The decider was a nail-biting affair with both the players having chance to emerge winner. A couple of unforced errors at the crucial junctures cost Srikanth dearly as he lost the decider 19-21.

Srikanth, former World No. 3, was shattered with yet another close defeat. "In last five weeks, I lost 4 matches in 3 games. Tough to digest this but thank you everyone who supported me even in my bad days. I will definitely come back much stronger in the next tournaments," said Srikanth.
All the doubles pair perished in the opening round. Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa found world No. 8 pair Chang Ye Na and Lee So Hee of Korea too hot to handle and bowed out without a fight.
Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Akshay Dewalkar put up a spirited show and went down fighting against Or Chin Chung and Tang Chun Man of Hong Kong in a hard-fought encounter.
Indian Results (Round 1)
Women's singles: 5-Saina Nehwal bt Fitriani Fitriani (Indonesia) 21-16, 21-17; PV Sindhu bt Maria Febe Kusumastuti (Indonesia) 21-10, 21-13.
Men's singles: 8-K Srikanth lost to Lee Dong Keun (Korea) 21-13, 12-21, 19-21.
Men's doubles: Manu Attri-B Sumeeth Reddy lost to 5-Hiroyuki Endo-Kenichi Hayakawa (Japan) 15-21, 13-21; Pranaav Jerry Chopra-Akshay Dewalkar lost to Or Chin Chung-Tang Chun Man (Hong Kong) 19-21, 17-21.
Women's doubles: Jwala Gutta-Ashwini Ponnappa lost to Chang Ye Na-Lee So Hee (Korea) 15-21, 11-21.
Mixed doubles: Arun Vishnu-Aparna Balan lost to Puavaranukroh Dechapol-Sapsiree Taerattanachai (Thailand) 13-21, 13-21.
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