There was no end to Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal’s lackluster run of form as the Olympic bronze-medallist crashed out of the China Open here on Wednesday following a straight-game opening-round defeat to local favourite Cai Yan Yan.
The World No.9 Saina lost 9-21 12-21 in the women’s singles clash that lasted just 24 minutes to make an early exit from the $700,000 tournament.
However, in men’s singles, Saina’s husband Parupalli Kashyap registered a comfortable straight-game victory over Thailand’s Sitthikom Thammasin.
The Indian outsmarted his Thai opponent 21-14 21-3 in 43 minutes. He will face seventh seed Victor Axelson of Denmark in the second round.
The mixed doubles pair of Pranav Jerry Chopra and Sikki Reddy also made a first-round exit. The duo went down 14-21 14-21 to Wang Chi-Lin and Cheng Chi Ya of Chinese Taipei.
The 29-year-old Saina has been going through a tough phase with regards to her fitness since claiming the Indonesia Masters in January.
She made three consecutive first-round exits before reaching the quarterfinal of the French Open last month.
