Saina Nehwal bowed out of the Korean Open badminton championship after a straight games defeat to Thailand's Soratija Chansrisukot in the third round in Seoul on Thursday.
Saina, who was the last Indian left in the draw, went down 10-21, 19-21 in 28 minutes.
The teenager from Hyderabad had shown fine form in the tournament but failed to quell the challenge of Chansrisukot.
After losing the first game, Saina ran the Thai girl close in the second but could not take the match into a decider.
India's challenge at the six-star event, thus, came to an end as other contenders, including national champion Anup Sridhar and India No. 2 Arvind Bhat, had lost in earlier rounds.