TOKYO: Indian paddler Sonalben Manubhai Patel suffered a close 2-3 defeat against China's Qian Li in her opening match of Group D in women's singles - Class 3 here at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium on Wednesday.
World No. 4 Li defeated Sonalben 9-11, 11-3, 15-17, 11-7, 11-4 in 36 minutes. The Indian will now be up against South Korea's Mi Gyu Lee on Thursday in her second Group D match.
Sonalben started the match on a winning note as she took the first game 11-9. Li then came back strongly as she dominated and won the second game 11-3 in just five minutes. The third game was a marathon as the Indian paddler held her nerves against the Rio 2016 silver medalist to edge 17-15.
The Chinese again shifted the momentum as she forced the decider by winning the fourth game 11-7. Qian gave no respite to Sonalben in the fifth game as well, clinching it 11-4.
