PV Sindhu Loses Opening Round of China Open to Lower-Ranked Pai

World Champion PV Sindhu suffered a shock defeat to lower-ranked Pai Yu Po of Chinese Taipei in the opening round.

(Photo: AP)

World Champion PV Sindhu suffered a shock defeat to lower-ranked Pai Yu Po of Chinese Taipei in the opening round to be ousted from the USD 700,000 China Open in Fuzhou on Tuesday, 5 November.

World No.6 Sindhu, who made early exits in China, Korea and Denmark, lost 13-21 21-18 19-21 to world No.42 Pai in a 74-minute women's singles match here.

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa, ranked 30th, beat Canada's Joshua Hurlburt-Yu and Josephine Wu 21-19 21-19 to make a positive start in the mixed doubles competition.

In 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.