Thailand Open: Saina Nehwal eliminated by Busanan Ongbamrungphan in the 2nd round | Badminton News

Saina Nehwal was eliminated from the ongoing Thailand Open after losing 23-21, 14-21 and 16-21 to Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrungphan in a grueling second round match that lasted over an hour on Thursday . Saina won the first match but failed to keep the momentum going in the next two as Busanan came back strongly to win the last two matches and advance in the tournament. Saina, who had tested positive before the World Tour Super 1000 tournament started with HS Prannoy, had beaten Malaysia’s Kisona Selvaduray in back-to-back matches on Wednesday after being cleared to participate in the event after testing negative for COVID-19 . Prannoy, on the other hand, lost to Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia in their first round draw.

Earlier today, Indian two-pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty also pulled out of the tournament after losing to second-seeded Indonesian pair Hendra Setiawan and Mohammad Ahsan.

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With the release of Saina, India’s challenge at the 2021 Thailand Open has come to an end. PV Sindhu had already crashed from the tournament on the opening day of the event.

Parupalli Kashyap had pulled out of his match at mid-point on Wednesday while Kidambi Srikanth, who beat Sourabh Verma in his first-round match, offered his Malay opponent a walk after pulling his calf just before his second turn.