KUALA LUMPUR: Women's singles shuttler S. Kisona has to make the kind of stride she would expect since turning professional this year.
On Tuesday, the 2019 Sea Games champion suffered another early exit, when she was sent packing in the opening round of the Super 300 Hylo Open in Germany.
Despite taking the first game comfortably 21-13, Kisona went on to lose the next two games 21-11, 21-8 to homester Yvonne Li.
The defeat is a setback for the Seremban-born, who still hopes to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
For the record, Kisona has yet to make a single quarter-final appearance this season.
As it stands, Kisona is ranked No 69 in the world, the third highest Malaysian women's singles player behind world No 29 Goh Jin Wei, and K. Letshanaa (No 56).
In the Race to Paris standings, Kisona is at No 77 behind Jin Wei (No 27) and Letshanaa (No 74).
For the singles events, a country is allowed the maximum representation of two players at the Olympics, provided they are within the top 16 bracket at the end of the one-year qualifying period in April.