Saina Nehwal’s difficult start to 2020 continues at Thailand Masters

Fifth seed Saina Nehwal suffered a first round exit at the Thailand Masters, going down 13-21, 21-17, 15-21 to Denmark’s Line Kjærsfeldt on Wednesday.

Though the Indian ace pushed all the way, Kjærsfeldt looked in fine touch as she registered her first-ever win over Nehwal on the BWF circuit.

Determined Dane

The 25-year-old Dane was quick to assert herself and raced to an 11-5 lead at the interval in the opening game. Though Saina Nehwal tried her best, the Indian couldn’t match her opponent’s pace as Kjærsfeldt won the opener 21-13.

Although the unseeded Dane held a 11-10 lead midway through the second game, Saina Nehwal soon shifted gears to sneak ahead and take the game 21-17 to push the match into the third game.

However, the London 2012 bronze medallist could not build on that momentum in the decider.

And though the Indian started well to stay within touching distance of her opponent in the initial exchanges, post the mid-game interval, six unanswered points saw Nehwal drop off and concede the game 15-21.

HS Prannoy bows out

Earlier, HS Prannoy too was on the receiving end of some fine stroke-making from Malaysian Liew Daren as he lost his opening round match 17-21, 22-20, 19-21.

In a match that lasted over an hour, Daren was made to toil hard before recording his maiden win over the Indian opponent.

The Malaysian will next take on second seed, Shi Yu Qi of China, with a place in the quarter-finals up for grabs on Thursday.