Kuala Lumpur:Thailand's 21st ranked Pornpawee Chochuwong defeated Saina Nehwal 22-20, 15-21, 10-21 in the first round of Malaysia Open.
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Saina, who withdrew from Swiss Open due to gastroenteritis, marched to 22-20 victory in the first game, but a spirited Chowchuwong bounced back and defeated her 22-20, 15-21, 10-21, having won the last two games.
Chochuwong, 21-year-old shuttler, was the silver medallist at the 2016 BWF World Junior Championship.
The Thai shuttler took just 54 minutes to wrap up the match and advanced to the second round.
Earlier, Top Indian shuttlers PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth advanced to the second round of the Malaysian Open World Tour Super 750 tournament on Wednesday.
Olympic and World Championship silver medallist Sindhu staved off a spirited challenge from World No 20 Aya Ohori 22-20, 21-12 to record her sixth win over the Japanese, while India Open finalist Srikanth beat Indonesia's Ihsan Maulana Mustofa 21-18, 21-16 in 38 minutes.
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Fifth seed Sindhu will now look to avenge her All England loss against Korea's Sung Ji Hyun, whom she faces next, while Srikanth will meet Thailand's Khosit Phetpradab on Thursday.
HS Prannoy, who had reached the quarterfinals last week at New Delhi, however, bowed out after losing 12-21, 21-16, 21-14 to Sitthikom Thammasin of Thailand following a hard-fought battle.
