Saina bows out as India's campaign ends

Her defeat brought the curtains on the country's campaign at the Thailand Masters Super 300 badminton tournament. The fifth-seeded Saina lost to unseeded Kjaersfeldt 13-21, 21-17, 15-21 in a hard fought contest. Saina had also lost in the first round at the Indonesia Masters last week. In men's singles, the trio of Kidambi Srikanth, Sameer Verma and HS Prannoy, too, faltered in the opening round.

Sameer lost to Malaysia's Lee Zii Jia 16-21, 15-21 in a 39-minute men's singles match. The story went on similar lines for the fifth-seeded Srikanth, who suffered a 21-12, 14-21, 12-21 defeat at the hands of Shesar Hiren Rhustavito of Indonesia.

This was Srikanth's third consecutive first-round exit this season. It was curtains for his compatriot Prannoy too. He lost 17-21, 22-20, 19-21 to Malaysia's Liew Daren.