India’s campaign at the prestigious Allam British Open 2016 got off to a disappointing start as 14th seed Joshna Chinappa suffered an unexpected defeat in the first round at the Airco Arena in Hull, England on Monday. The India No. 1 player was upset 10-12, 11-7, 9-11, 5-11 by the 23rd ranked Australian Donna Urquhart. The match lasted for 40 minutes.
This was Joshna’s first competitive match since winning the women’s singles gold at the South Asian Games in early February. She had opted not to play at the Windy City Open – a PSA World Series event – which was right after the South Asian Games as she wanted to rest and recover.
The rustiness probably played a part in her British Open first round setback as did her opponent’s steely determination. The World No. 14 fought hard with her lower-ranked rival till the third game but it was the fourth game where Urquhart built a big lead and Joshna was unable to catch up anymore.
Saurav Ghosal is the only other Indian playing at this elite PSA World Series event. He begins his challenge on Tuesday against the eight seed Mathieu Castagnet of France.
