New Delhi: Double Olympic medallist P V Sindhu was knocked out in the India Open opener here on Tuesday.
World No. 7 Sindhu, a former champion, went down 12-21 20-22 to Thailand's world No. 30 Supanida Katethong. The Indian had lost to the same player in the semifinals of the last edition.
Sindhu didn't look at her best as she struggled against the left-handed Supanida, who was precise in her returns and looked in more control in the rallies to take the opening game in the Super 750 badminton tournament.
The former world champion fought hard in the second game as she moved from 12-17 to grab one game point at 19-20. She had, in fact, left the court after the opponent's return was called out. But a video referral showed that the shuttle had actually kissed the line, handing her opponent a chance to close the match, and she did it in style after Sindhu went wide.
Reigning champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty produced a clinical display to storm into the second round after beating Scotland's Christopher Grimley and Matthew Grimley 21-13 21-15 in their men's doubles opener.
In women's singles, three-time former winner Ratchanok Inthanon recovered from a back injury to get the better of Malaysia's Goh Jin Wei 21-13 21-11, and Rio Olympic champion Carolina Marin beat 2017 world champion Nozomi Okuhara 21-13 21-18.
