NAGPUR: Malvika Bansod was close to scripting one of her biggest career wins, but as luck would have it the wind was against her, and the 20-year-old went down fighting in the first round of Badminton Asia Championship in Manila on Wednesday.
Up against Singapore's world no. 16 Yeo Jia Min, the 55th ranked Malvika did everything right but had difficulty in handling the drift to bow out of the championship after a 9-21, 21-17, 26-24 loss in a thrilling 51-minute women's singles opening round match.