India’s Kidambi Srikanth lost to Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto in the men’s singles opening round of the Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.
Srikanth, ranked 13th, fought hard in the opening game, but Nishimoto managed to take the lead.
The two shuttlers were tied at 12-12 in the second game but the Japanese ran away with the contest from there.
Meanwhile, Aakarshi Kashyap lost to Chinese Taipei’s Hsu Wen-chi 10-21, 8-21 in the women’s singles.
Similarly, in the women’s category, Saina Nehwal went down fighting 12-21,21-17, 12-21 to unseeded Han Yue of China.
Saina, who has slipped to world number 30, fought back to force a decider in a women’s singles first round match.
Later in the day, Commonwealth Games 2022 bronze medallist women’s doubles pair Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand were the only team to begin their campaign with a 21-19, 21-14 win over Yeung Nga Ting and Yeung Pui Lam of Hong Kong.
