BWF Denmark Open | Saina Nehwal advances as PV Sindhu makes shocking first round exit

Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal defeated Hong Kong's Ngan Yi Cheung 20-22, 21-17, 24-22 in a tough clash that lasted 81 minutes. Saina had to put in her best to endure a gritty challenge from Cheyung, who she had last played back in 2016. The match went down to the last point with the Indian saving two match points at 21-20 and 22-21 in the final game to emerge victorious and advance to the next round.

But fellow shuttler PV Sindhu crashed out of the Denmark Open after a shocking opening-round loss to America’s Beiwen Zhang in the women’s singles event in Odense on Tuesday. Sindhu, who was seeded third in the competition, lost by a scoreline of 17-21 21-16 18-21 to Zhang in a hard-fought opening encounter that went on for 56 minutes. For Sindhu, this was the third consecutive match that she lost to Zhang as the American head earlier beaten Sindhu in the Indian Open final in February.

Meanwhile, in the mixed doubles category, the Indian pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa suffered a 21-17, 21-18 defeat at the hands of South Korea’s Seo Seung Jae and Chae Yujung. The Korean duo displayed superior quality throughout major stages of the game and comfortably saw off their Indian counterparts in a match that went on for 35 minutes.