World Championship bronze medallist HS Prannoy made a shock opening-round exit from the China Open badminton 2023 tournament after going down in three games to Malaysia’s Ng Tze Yong here on Tuesday.
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The world number six Indian toiled hard for one hour six minutes before losing 12-21 21-13 18-21 to the Malaysian, who is ranked 22nd. Reigning Commonwealth Games champion Lakshya Sen also crashed out of the tournament in the first round after losing to Anders Antonsen of Denmark in three games — 21-23 21-16 9-21 — in one hour and 18 minutes.
Priyanshu Rajawat then went down 13-21 24-26 to Indonesia’s Shesar Hiren Rhustavito. With that, the Indian challenge ended in the men’s singles. The women’s doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand lost to top seeds Chen Qing Chen and Jia Yi Fan of China 18-21 11-21.
There is no Indian in the women’s singles after star shuttler PV Sindhu pulled out in a last-minute decision to focus on the upcoming Asian Games. P
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