Indian badminton players faced a disappointing start at the Denmark Open Super 750 tournament, with both the women’s and mixed doubles pairs suffering opening-round defeats on Wednesday.
In the women’s doubles, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand squandered a game lead to lose 21-19, 17-21, 15-21 against fifth-seeded Malaysian duo Pearly Tan and Muralitharan Thinaah. Despite a strong start, the Indian pair couldn’t maintain their momentum and eventually succumbed to their higher-ranked opponents.
The mixed doubles pair of B Summeth Reddy and N Sikki Reddy also endured a heartbreaking loss, falling 22-20, 19-21, 22-24 to Canadian duo Kevin Lee and Eliana Zhang. After taking the first game, the Indians let their lead slip away in the second and third games, narrowly missing out on a victory.
The only bright spot for India on Wednesday was double Olympic medalist PV Sindhu, who advanced to the second round of the women’s singles after her opponent, Pai Yu Po of Chinese Taipei, retired midway through the second game.
Earlier in the tournament, Lakshya Sen, a 2021 World Championships bronze medalist, crashed out in the opening round of the men’s singles, while Malvika Bansod and Aakarshi Kashyap also made first-round exits from the women’s singles competition.
The Denmark Open Super 750 is a prestigious badminton tournament that attracts top players from around the world. The Indian shuttlers will be hoping to bounce back from their disappointing start and make a strong showing in the remaining rounds of the competition.
