SAI’S DIVINE TOUCH

Odense (Denmark), October 15 

World Champion PV Sindhu made an impressive start to her campaign at the Denmark Open, claiming a straight-game win over Indonesia’s Gregoria Mariska Tunjung in the women’s singles competition. Fifth seed Sindhu, who had made early exits in China and South Korea in recent tournaments, overcame Gregoria 22-20 21-18 in 38 minutes to keep her 5-0 record intact against the Indonesian. The Olympics silver medallist will now face South Korea’s An Se Young next. 

B Sai Praneeth also made it to the second round, beating Lin Dan 21-14 21-17 in a 35-minute clash. The Hyderabad shuttler is likely to meet world No. 1 Kento Momota of Japan next. Praneeth had won silver at the World Championships in Basel August after being beaten by Momota in the semifinals.

Parupalli Kashyap failed to cross the opening round after losing 13-21 12-21 to Thailand’s Sitthikom Thammasin. Sourabh Verma also made an early exit after going down 21-19 11-21 17-21 to Mark Caljouw of the Netherlands. In men’s doubles, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty beat the South Korean pair of Kim Gi Jung and Lee Yong Dae 24-22 21-11 in 39 minutes. 

Marin wins

Carolina Marin beat Pornpawee Chochuwong 21-16 21-19 and Nozomi Okuhara defeated Busanan Ongbamrungphan 18-21 21-9 21-16. Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy lost to Wakana Nagahara and Mayu Matsumoto 23-25 18-21. — PTI