Saina Nehwal faced an early exit in the women's singles category at the Thailand Open 2023 in Bangkok on Thursday.
However, India's flag was kept flying high by Lakshya Sen, the reigning Commonwealth Games champion, and Kiran George as they advanced to the quarter-finals in the men's singles event.
Nehwal, the 2012 Olympic bronze medallist, encountered a formidable opponent in China's He Bing Jiao in the round of 16. Despite putting up a spirited fight, Saina fell short against the Chinese shuttler, losing 21-11, 21-14. This marked Saina's first defeat against He Bing Jiao in three meetings.
In the same category, Asmitha Chaliha's campaign also came to an end as she went down to Spain's Carolina Marin, a three-time world champion and 2016 Olympic gold medallist. Chaliha fought valiantly in the first game but Marin's quality was too much to handle for her as she lost in straight games with a score of 21-18, 21-13.
However, there was a lot to cheer during the men's singles event as Lakshya Sen defeated Li Shi Feng of the Republic of China, the reigning All England Open champion. He was at his very best and his impressive performance resulted in a convincing 21-17, 21-15 victory in just 49 minutes. With this triumph, Sen secured a spot in the men's singles quarter-finals and will now face Leong Jun Hao.
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Joining Lakshya Sen in the men's singles quarter-finals is Kiran George, who delivered a stunning performance against China's Weng Hong Yang. George displayed excellent technique and composure throughout the match and emerged victorious with a score of 21-11, 21-19 to set up a quarter-final encounter against France's Toma Junior Popov.
Unfortunately, the top-seeded men's doubles pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy were eliminated from the tournament after they lost to Indonesia's Muhammad Shohbul Fikri and Bagas Maulana 24-26, 21-11, 21-17 in a closely contested match.
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