China Open: Saina Nehwal suffers first-round exit

The 29-year-old faced defeat at the hands of China's Cai Yan Yan 21-9, 21-12 in the encounter that lasted for 24 minutes.

Fuzhou: Star India shuttler Saina Nehwal on Wednesday knocked out of the Fuzhou China Open after losing the first round match here at the Haixia Olympic Center.

The 29-year-old faced defeat at the hands of China's Cai Yan Yan 21-9, 21-12 in the encounter that lasted for 24 minutes.

Saina Nehwal

Earlier in the day, Pranaav Jerry Chopra and N. Sikki Reddy were knocked out from the tournament after facing a defeat at the hands of Taiwan's Wang Chi-Lin and Cheng Chi Ya 21-14, 21-14 in the mixed doubles competition.Yesterday, in the men's singles, HS Prannoy, who has recently recovered from dengue, faltered in the opening round, losing 17-21 18-21 to Denmark's Rasmus Gemke.PV Sindhu has also crashed out of the tournament.