Saina Nehwal's comeback ended with a gruelling opening round loss but Olympic silver-medallist P V Sindhu crossed the first hurdle at the $700,000 China Super Series Premier here on Wednesday.
Three months after limping out of the Rio Olympics due to a severe knee injury, fourth seed Saina was back on the court but her fight against Thailand's Porntip Buranaprasertsuk ended with a 16-21, 21-19, 14-21 loss in a women's singles match that lasted for almost an hour.
london Olympics bronze-medallist Saina, who had won the China Open title in 2014 and reached the finals last year, will next play at the Hong Kong Super Series next week.
Seventh seed Sindhu, however, had no problems in disposing off the challenge from Chinese Taipei's Chia Hsin lee 21-12 21-16 in just 34 minutes. The two-time bronze medallist at World Championship will next take on USA's Beiwen Zhang.
In men's singles, Ajay Jayaram and H S Prannoy also reached the second round after notching up contrasting wins over their respective opponents in the opening round.
Saina's comeback may have ended with a gruelling opening round loss but the london Olympics bronze medallist said she was satisfied with the way she played.
"This was my first tournament since Rio Olympics and it felt really good to be back. I was playing after a gap of two and half months after the surgery. Even though I lost early I am quite satisfied with the way I played and gave a tough fight playing against a top player," said Saina.
"I am feeling good about my fitness level and it will only get better for me from here. I am quite confident of getting back to my best soon and really look forward to play the Premier Badminton league for my team, Awadhe Warriors," she said.
Premier Badminton league is scheduled to be held from January 1 next year.