PV Sindhu became the darling of India badminton after returning home from Rio Olympics with a silver medal winning performance. But, the Hyderabad girl could not deliver in the Denmark Open as the shuttler lost in the second round of the women's singles on Thursday. Things did not look any good in the men's competition, with Ajay Jayaram and HS Prannoy being dumped out of Denmark Open as well.
There were great hopes from Sindhu, who was making her maiden appearance after the success of Rio. Her Japanese opponent Sayaka Sato got off to a brilliant start, playing some wonderful shots to surprise the Indian shuttler to win the first game.
Sindhu played better in the second game, but Sato was also equal to the task, and at one point of time, it looked that the Rio silver medallist will lose in straight games. But, Sindhu managed to somehow win the game 23-21, and take the tie to the decider.
Though Sindhu came up with some terrific shuttle play from the baseline, Sato was on a league of her own, earning some massive points in crucial juncture, which helped her win the game as well as the match. The final score read 21-13, 21-23, 21-18.
Things did not go well or India on the day as China's Shi Yuqi got the better of Jayaram, who lost the match in straight games. The first game was a close one with the Indian shuttler playing some brilliant badminton, but Shi looked too strong to clinch the first game, and later won the second game to march into the next round of the competition with 23-21, 21-15 score line.
Another Indian shuttler, Prannoy had a tough match ahead of him as he faced top seed Lee Chong Wei, who is one of the best players on the circuit. The Malaysian showed his dominance, winning the match in straight games, score reading 21-10, 22-20.
