Saina out in first round, Lakshya Sen in second round

Former number one India’s Saina Nehwal crashed out of the Denmark Open after losing in consecutive games to Japan’s Aya Ohori, while Lakshya Sen defeated compatriot Saurabh Verma to enter the second round.

Three Indian pairs also faced defeat in the first round of the tournament. HS Prannoy lost in a hard-fought fight while Parupalli Kashyap left the match against fourth seed Chinese Taipei’s Chou Tien Chen after trailing 0-3 in the first game. Prannoy was defeated 21-18 21-19 by sixth seed Indonesia’s Jonathan Christie in a tight 46-minute fight.

Saina was defeated by Ohori 21-16, 21-14 in 34 minutes. Meanwhile, Lakshya Sen beat Saurabh 21-9, 21-7 in just 26 minutes. Lakshya Sen will next face second seed Viktor Axelsen of Denmark.

Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy and J Meghna and Poorvisha Ram lost in the women’s doubles opening round while Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa lost in the mixed doubles.