India’s PV Sinhu, currently ranked 10th in the world, lost 13-21, 25-23, 21-19 against the World No. 50 Yvonne Li of Germany at the SJF Bank Arena in Odense.
The defeat at the BWF Super 750 tournament was Sindhu’s first loss in four meetings against Yvonne Li.
PV Sindhu otherwise got off to a promising start and dominated the opening game but was edged out in a tie-break in the second, despite the Indian saving five game points.
In the decider, Sindhu looked to have everything under control and led 12-7 and then 19-15 before Li produced a stunning six-point burst to win the contest.
Yvonne Li is now set to face Tanvi Sharma in the second round after the Indian badminton player secured a hard-earned 21-17, 16-21, 21-19 win against Japan’s Natsuki Nidaira.
Elsewhere, Lakshya Sen’s questionable form on the BWF World Tour circuit continued after he lost 21-18, 13-21, 21-15 to world No. 3 and sixth seed Chou Tien-chen of Chinese Taipei.
It was Lakshya Sen’s fifth first-round exit in his last six tournaments on the BWF World Tour and also his fifth loss in 10 matches against Chou Tien-chen.
Lakshya Sen even leading 18-15 in the first neck-and-neck game, before Chou Tien-chen rallied to pick up six straight points and clinch the opener.
Lakshya Sen then managed to fight back in the second game by surging to an 11-6 lead before closing it out in comfortable fashion to take the match into a decider.
However, Chou Tien-chen came roaring back and dominated the final game from the outset en route to victory.