KUALA LUMPUR – National women’s singles ace S. Kisona’s hopes of returning to the court with a bang were dashed after she was eliminated by Neslihan Yigit of Turkey in the opening round of the BWF World Championships 2021 in Huelva, Spain, yesterday.
The world number 28 Neslihan took 37 minutes to overcome 59th ranked Kisona, 21-14, 21-15, in the match held in Palacio de los Deportes Carolina Marin.
This was Kisona’s first appearance since she fell victim to racist comments on social media following her loss to the world number three Akane Yamaguchi of Japan in the Sudirman Cup semi-finals in Vaanta, Finland last October.
Meanwhile, independent men’s shuttler, Cheam June Wei also suffered a first round heartbreak as he went down 17-21, 8-21 to Kenta Nishimoto of Japan, .
Several other national players including 2021 All England champion Lee Zii Jia as well as up and coming mixed doubles pair Hoo Pang Ron-Cheah Yee See will play ther opening round fixtures today.
Zii Jia, seeded sixth in the tournament, will face Canadian Jason Anthony Ho-Shue, while Dutch pair Ties Van Der Lecq-Debora Jille will take on Pang Ron-Yee See.
