Denmark Open 2024 badminton: PV Sindhu through to pre-quarterfinals; Lakshya Sen knocked out

Former world champion PV Sindhu produced a clinical performance to defeat Chinese Taipei’s Pai Yu Po in the first round of the Denmark Open 2024 badminton women’s singles event in Odense on Tuesday.

Sindhu, 18th in the badminton rankings, won the first game 21-8 and was leading 12-7 in the second game before her 29th-ranked opponent withdrew because of injury.

This was Sindhu’s fifth victory over Pai Yu Po in seven meetings. Pai Yu Po had beaten the Indian the last time the two players met at the Korea Open last year.

Sindhu was the only Indian badminton player to win her match at the Denmark Open, a BWF Super 750 tournament, on Tuesday.

The rest of the Indian contingent, including Lakshya Sen, Malvika Bansod, Aakarshi Kashyap and the women’s doubles duo of Rutaparna Panda and Swetaparna Panda lost their matches.

World No. 17 Lakshya Sen was one game up and led his opponent Lu Guang Zu of the People’s Republic of China 16-11 in the second game of his men’s singles round of 32 match. However, Lu Guang Zu, 18th in the badminton rankings, mounted a comeback to defeat Sen 12-21, 21-19, 21-14 in 70 minutes.

In the women’s singles, Aakarshi Kashyap lost to Thailand’s seventh-seeded Supanida Katethong 21-13, 21-12 while Malvika Bansod went down to Vietnam’s Nguyen Thùy Linh 21-13, 21-12.

India’s Rutaparna Panda-Swetaparna Panda lost to Chinese Taipei’s Chang Ching Hui/Yang Ching Tun 21-18, 24-22 in the women’s doubles.

Sathish Kumar Karunakaran-Aadya Variyath will take on Rehan Naufal Kusharjanto -Lisa Ayu Kusimawati in their mixed doubles round of 32 match later in the day.

Women’s singles player Unnati Hooda, Commonwealth Games 2022 bronze medallist women’s pair Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand and mixed doubles pair B Sumeeth Reddy-N Sikki Reddy will open their campaign on Wednesday.