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 in Athens today (Aug 15, 2004).

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 in Athens and bow out of the Games.

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.

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 yesterday defeated South African Michelle Edward 11-6 11-3 for her maiden victory in the Olympic games.

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.

The two other Indians in the fray -- Abhinn Shyam Gupta and Nikhil Kanetkar will open their campaign in men's singles today.