PV Sindhu faced an unlikely defeat in the second round of the China Open, as she was defeated by Thailand's 15th seed Pornpawee Chochuwong.
World Champion PV Sindhu faced a huge upset in the second round of the China Open, as they was defeated by Thailand's Pornpawee Chochuwong 21-12, 13-21, 19-21.
Sindhu, who came into the match with a 3-0 lead against Pornpawee, dominated the first game as she lead 7-1 early on but the Thai shuttler reduced the deficit to 10-11 at the break.
However, Sindhu reeled off eight straight points after the interval to jump to 19-10 and eventually sealed the first game comfortably.
In the second game, Pornpawee changed gears and moved to a 5-1 advantage initially. Sindhu clawed back to 7-9 before the Thai youngster jumped to 15-7 with six straight points and held her fort to roar back into the contest.
The decider started on an even note as the duo fought hard, moving together till 6-6 when Sindhu surged ahead to enjoy a 11-7 cushion at the break.
However, Pornpawee kept breathing down Sindhu's neck and slowly moved to 15-19. From there, the Thai shuttler blasted six points to leave the Indian shocked.
Among other Indians in fray, Parupalli Kashyap and B Sai Praneeth will also be in action, while Ponnappa and N Siki Reddy will take on the second seeded Japanese duo of Misaki Matsutomo and Ayaka Takahashi in the second round of the women's doubles competition.
