Kidambi Srikanth, India’s star shuttler, started off his Denmark Open campaign on a winning note as he defeated Hong Kong’s Ng Ka Long Angus to progress to the second round on Tuesday.
Playing in arena one, the first game of the match saw Ng Ka Long Angus dominate the Indian shuttler as he clinched the game 21-17 with his swift moves. Kidambi made a stunning comeback in the second game of the match, but the Indian had to battle a tough draw to face the uphill task of defeating the Hong Kong challenge. Kidambi claimed the second game by a scoreline of 21-14 to force a decider.
In the decider, both players fought vigilantly as they restricted each other from taking the points. However, Kidambi proved to be more aggressive and dominant as he claimed the 17-21, 21-14, 21-12 win over the world number 14 Hong Kong player in a 56-minute contest.
Later in the day, in the women’s doubles, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand will represent India.
HS Prannoy and Saina Nehwal will be part of the Indian singles team. 2022 Commonwealth champion PV Sindhu is yet to recover from her ankle injury and has pulled out of the tournament.
The lone pair from India competing in the men’s doubles is Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, who are the seventh seeds in the doubles.