All England Open 2018: PV Sindhu edges past Pornpawee Chochuwong in thrilling opening round encounter

India's top female shuttler Pusarla Venkata Sindhu beat the Thai opponent Pornpawee Chochuwong in the opening round of women's singles at the coveted All England Championships in Birmingham on Wednesday.

Ranked number 4 in the world, Sindhu beat her Thai opponent in three well-contested games with a scorecard reading 20-22, 21-17, and 21-9.

Chochuwong was close enough with Sindhu in the first and second round of the game, but in the third, Sindhu picked up her pace, thus leaving Chochuwong in jitters and positioning her win in the game.

Sindhu recovered in time and wrapped up the game with the decider lasting just 15 minutes.

Also Read: Saina Nehwal crashes out of All England Open 2018, loses to World no.1 Tai Tzu Ying

In the earlier matches of the day, world number 3 Kidambi Srikanth bounced back to win his game, beating France’s Brice Leverdez in a dramatic first round encounter. Srikanth, who was playing his first international match in over a month, completely dominated Leverdez after the first round of the game, thus leading to India’s victory.

In a parallel game, Srikanth’s fellow, Saina Nehwal, crashed out of the All England Open, after losing to world number 1 Tai Tzu Ying of China. After her debut in the All England Open in 2007, this is the third time Nehwal has lost in the opening round.

The All England Championship 2018 began on Wednesday, March 14, and will continue up till Sunday, March 18.