Hyderabad, Aug 11 - India's Arvind Bhat came close to upsetting ninth seed Yu Hsien Hsieh of Chinese Tapiei but lost in a thriller in the first round of the World Badminton Championships here Tuesday.

World No.24 Bhat saved three match points and lost one to go down 14-21, 21-19, 22-24 in more than an hour in the Balayogi Stadium.

It was a see-saw contest and Bhat came back strongly in the second game. The Indian made a remarkable fightback in the third game when he was down 4-11 but could not hold his nerve in crucial points.

'I deserved to win. I was feeling good about the match. I played him twice before and have lost because of some unforced errors. He is beatable and I was well-prepared for this match,' said Bhat.