Denmark Open 2018: Kidambi Srikanth progresses to 2nd round

It was a good day for Indian shuttlers as Kidambi Srikanth progressed to the 2nd round of Super Level 750 tournament played at Odense Park, Denmark on Wednesday. In other results, the womens' doubles pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and Sikki Reddy also progressed to the 2nd round.

Srikanth defeated Denmark's Hans-Kristian Solberg in two straight games. It was a dominating performance by the Indian shuttler, who has been struggling for form this year. He outplayed his opponent, winning 21-16, 21-10 to progress into the 2nd round. He will face one of the greats, Lin Dan, in the second round.

The womens' doubles pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and Sikki Reddy had an easy outing, defeating their USA opponent easily in two straight games 21-7, 21-11 to move into the 2nd round. They will face the Korean pair of Lee S-H and Shin S-C in the next round.

PS Ram and Jakkampudi lost to Swedish opponents Karlsson and Magnusson in two straight games, 17-21, 11-21 to be knocked out in the first round.

The mens' doubles pair of Manu Attri and Sumeeth Reddy lost to the Danish pair of K Astrup and AS Rasmussen in three gruelling games. It was a close fought first game as both pairs took alternate points before the Denmark pair held their nerves to win it 25-23.

Attri and Reddy played with aggression in the second set, putting pressure on Denmark before winning it 21-18 to force the match into deciding game.

It was an outstanding performance by the young Denmark pair, who showed their aggressive intent, winning the third and deciding set 21-16 to knock the Indian pair out of the tournament.

Saina Nehwal and Sai Praneeth are the only other two Indians still in the fray.