Arvind Bhat becomes first round casualty in China Masters

New Delhi: Indian shuttler Arvind Bhat crashed out of the China Masters Super Series badminton tournament after losing his first round match against Korean Cheol Ho Lee in Changzhou on Wednesday.

The world number 31 Indian squandered a first game advantage to go down 21-12 10-21 10-21 to Lee in a 43-minute match. In the first game, Arvind was untouchable as he opened up a 3-0 lead and kept widening the gap to 15-7 and 19-10 before sealing the game at 21-12. But the Korean bounced back in the second game and surged ahead with a 2-0 lead and even though the Indian reduced it to 10-11, Lee recorded 10 straight points to level the match 1-1.The decider was no different as after a 3-0 lead Lee moved ahead to 7-2 as Arvind’s game crumbled.PTI