Kuuba opened the tournament on Tuesday with a convincing 21-7, 21-9  win over Fathimath Nabaaha Abdul Razzaq, one of just five olympians competing for the Maldives this time around.

However, since Sindhu also beat Razzaq, and by a slightly larger margin, nothing less than a decisive win would do for Kuuba to progress from Group M – since only the group winner moves on to the next stage.

Kuuba, who had expressed satisfaction about the facilities in Paris and the number of people who showed up to watch the games, said: "If you take a look at this season, how training has gone and how little I have entered competitions, this result is not so surprising."

"When there has been no high-quality training, then the difference in level will quickly be revealed. It is very difficult to get points from that situation," she continued.

"My defense didn't work out today. The lifts were very poor quality and often came up short. It all started with the opponent reading my attack shot, then pulling the court wide and then my lifts were always short. From there on in I was under fire all the time. Maybe I blocked one or two shots, but I was always late for the third or fourth. It all felt like I was sprinting around the court."

In the opening game, the Estonian was quickly 8:0 down. "I felt a little panic because nothing was working," she said. That game ended 21:5.

The second game started much better for Kuuba and they kept the score even until the first drinks break. "That was probably my best phase in the game. It was a bit like starting all over again. I knew I could play better. My plan was to play more riskily than usual. Unfortunately, that plan didn't work out."

Sindhu took the game 21:10 and with it the match and group.

Sindhu next faces Group N winner Bingjiao He (PRC).

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