Aparna makes her exit after brave effort

Athens:

India's lone woman shuttler Aparna Popat came up with a gutsy performance but went down fighting against fourth seed Mia Audina of Netherlands in the singles second round of Olympics badminton championship today. Popat, who was considered a rank outsider against the Indonesian-born Audina, created a mild flutter, taking the first game but could not sustain the momentum to go down 11-9 1-11 3-11 in 43 minutes at the Goudi Olympic Hall and bow out of the games. Forced on backfoot The Indian national champion, playing in her second Olympics, was immediately forced on the backfoot as Audina raced to a 9-4 lead in the first game. But the 26-year-old Popat not only used her drop shots to perfection but controlled the rallies brilliantly to negate the deficit and take the game in 17 minutes. Fiery win However, Audina came out firing on all cylinders from the second game and conceded just four more points to wrap up the remaining two games in 18 minutes. Audina will now meet the winner of the match between seventh seed Camila Martin of Denmark and Tracey Hallam of Great Britain. Popat had defeated South African Michelle Edward 11-6 11-3 for her maiden victory in the Olympics on Saturday. Popat, the only Indian shuttler to get a direct entry when the initial list was declared on May 1, did slightly better than her performance in Sydney four years ago when she was knocked in the very first round. (PTI)