China's Li Xuerui defeated by Sindhu of India at first round of China Open

Changzhou: Former Olympic champion Li Xuerui of China suffered her straight-set loss to India's Pusarla V. Sindhu in the first round of the 2019 badminton China Open here on Wednesday.

It took just 34 minutes for the fifth seed Sindhu to clinch the victory. She made the early running in the first set, leading 6-1, until Li geared up to tie the game to 8-8. Sindhu then came back to seal the win 21-18, 21-12.

"She played better than me in terms of ability and speed," said Li, who is still making her comeback onto the court from injuries.

"I made a few unforced errors for which I've conceded a few continuous points, otherwise I think it went on really well," Sindhu commented.

One month ago in Basel, Switzerland, Sindhu won the gold medal at the Badminton World Champions tourney. As the first Indian to earn that title, she said: "Really feel good and I think it's again a fresh start for me."

"It was a very big win for me and I think that gave me a lot of confidence. It will definitely keep me going," she added.

The 24-year-old will next face the winner between Thailand's Pornpawee Chochuwong and Canada's Michelle Li.