Saina fought hard before going down 21-16 10-21 19-21 to Yao Xue of China, while Sindhu lost to sixth seed Yeon Ju Bae of Korea 16-21 19-2.
Kuala Lumpur: India's campaign in the women's singles came to an end at the USD 500,000 Malaysia Super Series Premier badminton event after both Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu lost their respective second round matches, here on Thursday.
Olympic bronze medalist Saina fought hard before going down 21-16 10-21 19-21 to lower-ranked Yao Xue of China in a 56-minute contest, while Sindhu lost to sixth seed Yeon Ju Bae of Korea 16-21 19-21 in 45 minutes at the Putra Stadium.
World No. 8 Saina, who had endured a tough season last year when she could not win a single title, failed to turn around her fortunes in her season opener here. Saina sealed the the opening game 21-16 but failed to keep her composure. Xue opened up a massive gap in the second game to win it 21-10. The opponents went neck-and-neck in the decider and were tied at 19-19 at one stage but Xue claimed two quick points to clinch the match.
Earlier, World Championship bronze-medallist PV Sindhu was ousted by South Korean sixth seed Yeon Ju Bae in the women's singles second round. The World No.7 Korean won 21-16, 21-19 in 45 minutes to take a 2-0 lead in career meetings over the Hyderabadi.
