Ningbo (China): Kidambi Srikanth exited from the first round of the Badminton Asia Championship on Wednesday losing against Indonesia’s Anthony Ginting by 14-21, 13-21.
Ginting dominated the proceedings from the start in the first set of the fixture and outplayed his Indian rival winning the opening set by 21-14. The Indonesian took a big lead in the initial minutes by 4-0 and also extended it to 8-1. The world no.3 then maintained his lead throughout the set by 21-14.
However, in the second set, it was a close contest. Both players were levelled at 9-9 and the set scoreline was equalled at 12-12. Ginting then extended his lead to a couple of points with down the line smash. The Indonesian stretched his lead by three points as the set progressed and he was leading by 18-13 soon. Ginting then won some more points on the trot to secure the set by 13-21.
Sindhu, who is desperately seeking to rediscover her form ahead of the Paris Olympics, almost blew away a five-point advantage in the decider before managing a gritty 18-21 21-14 21-19 win against world number 33 Goh Jin Wei from Malaysia. Sindhu had lost to her Malaysian opponent the last time they met in the Sudirman Cup though the Indian has a 4-1 record against her. Next up for Sindhu is China's Han Yue, against whom the Indian has a flawless 5-0 record. (With agency inputs)
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