Denmark Open 2022 | Lakshya Sen defeats HS Prannoy to make it to quarter-finals
On Thursday at the Jyske Bank Arena in Odense, Denmark, Lakshya Sen of India and the team of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy advanced to the quarterfinals of the Denmark Open 2022. Sen defeated fellow Indian HS Prannoy, who is presently ranked first on the BWF World Tour, 21-9, 21-18.
From the beginning, the winner of the Commonwealth Games 2022 was in excellent shape, putting the shuttles accurately as Prannoy battled with his returns. The opening game was then prematurely ended by Lakshya Sen, who then unleashed his signature cross-court smashes.
In the second game, HS Prannoy was more aggressive and engaged Lakshya Sen head-to-head with the help of a strong defense. At the time of the game's midway point, the 30-year-old was up 11-10. Before Lakshya Sen seized a pivotal 19-17 lead and ended the match with another cross-court winner in a captivating contest, the pair swapped points in extended rallies.
In the quarterfinal, Lakshya Sen will now either play Lu Guang Zu of China or Kodai Naraoka of Japan. Kidambi Srikanth, a former world number one, was eliminated in the round of 16 after falling to Singaporean Loh Kean Yew, a former world champion, 21-13, 21-15. Srikanth dominated the opening exchanges, but Loh fought back through the rallies to win the first game.
In the second game, the Singaporean quickly built a 17-8 lead before Kidambi scored seven straight points. However, Loh Kean Yew easily secured the victory, and the Indian was unable to reverse the tables. Indonesia's Muhammad Fikri and Bagas Maulana, the All England winners, were easily defeated by seventh seeds Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy in the men's doubles, winning 21-14, 21-16.
The pair will now compete against fourth-seeded Malaysians Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik, the current global champions. After losing to the Malaysians in the semi-finals of the BWF World Championships this year, Chirag and Satwik received their first medal, a bronze one. At the Denmark Open 2022, two further Indian couples lost in the round of 16.
Olympic and world championship medalists Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino of Japan defeated Ishaan Bhatnagar and Tanisha Crasto 21-16, 21-10 in the following round. Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, who won bronze in the CWG 2022 women's doubles competition, fell to sixth-seeded Thai players Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajonjai by scores of 23-21, 21-13.