Srikanth sets up clash with Lin Dan

Odense (Denmark), October 17 

World No. 6 Kidambi Srikanth set up a second-round clash with the legendary Lin Dan after an easy win over Hans-Kristian Solberg Vittinghus in the Denmark Open. Srikanth needed just 35 minutes to beat the local hope 21-16 21-10 in the opening round of the $7,75,000 tournament.

Srikanth has lost three of his four matches against Dan but the Chinese great is not the force he once was. The former world No. 1 is now placed 14th in the international rankings. The last time Sriknath beat Dan was in 2014 at the China Open.

If Srikanth manages to get past Dan and Sameer Verma overcomes Asian Games gold medallist Jonathan Christie, it will be an all-Indian quarterfinal in the bottom half of the men’s singles draw.

Sai loses

Meanwhile, world No. 26 B Sai Praneeth made an early exit after losing 12-21 21-14 21-15 to China’s 34th-ranked Huang Yuxiang. 

In the women’s doubles competition, Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy moved to the second round with a 21-7 21-11 win over USA’s Ariel Lee and Sydney Lee. But it was curtains for Meghana Jakkampudi and S Ram Poorvisha, who lost 21-17 21-11 to the Swedish combination of Emma Karlsson and Johanna Magnusson. — PTI