Denmark Open 2021: 10 Indian shuttlers crash out of tournament

The second day of the competition saw the Indian contingent come away with a flurry of defeats.

Indian badminton players suffered many setbacks on Wednesday at the ongoing Denmark Open 2021 being held in Odense. Day 2 of the tournament was a disappointing one for India, after a positive start on Tuesday. Several Indians were in action, but most of them came away with defeats. 

One of the high-profile players in action was Saina Nehwal. The Olympic bronze medalist was up against Aya Ohori of Japan in Round 1 of the women’s singles category. The Japanese shuttler ran away victorious in straight games 21-16, 21-14 within 34 minutes. This meant an early exit for Nehwal from the prestigious Denmark Open 2021.

Lakshya Sen was the sole victor on the day but the encounter was an all-Indian affair. He emerged as the winner against compatriot Sourabh Verma by a 21-9, 21-7 scoreline. However, Sen will clash against second seed Viktor Axelsen in the next round, which will be a tough fixture to say the least.

Disappointment for Indian pairs

In the women’s doubles category, the Indian pair of Ashwini Ponappa and N. Sikki Reddy lost their opening encounter. The South Korean pair of Lee So-hee and Shin Seung-chan recorded a comfortable 21-17, 21-13 victory to progress into the next round. 

Elsewhere, Meghana Jakkampudi and S Ram Poorvisha of India also lost their match in the women's doubles bracket. The Indonesian pair of Nita Violina Marwah and Putri Syaikah dominated the Indians and won the encounter in straight games with a 21-8 21-7 scoreline.

The Indian pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponappa also succumbed to defeat. Their Chinese opponents Feng Yan Zhe and Du Yue won a high-octane clash 21-17, 14-21, 21-11 in the mixed doubles category. HS Prannoy also came away with an 18-21, 19-21 defeat in the men’s singles bracket. Sixth seed Jonatan Christie of Indonesia was too hot to handle for the Indian shuttler and progressed into the second round.

Concluding a disappointing day for India was Parupalli Kashyap, who could not finish his match against Chou Tien-chen of Chinese Taipei. His opponent was leading 3-0 when Kashyap retired from the match, thus forfeiting it.

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