Denmark Open 2024: PV Sindhu Into Second Round; Lakshya Sen Crashes Out in Opener

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PV Sindhu progressed to the second round in Denmark Open 2024 on Tuesday (October 15) after her opponent retired midway through the women's singles contest at the Arena Fyn in Odense, Denmark.

The two-time Olympic medallist Indian shuttler, who returned to action for the first time since Paris Olympics 2024 in August, eased to take the first game 2-8, and was leading 13-7 in the second essay before her opponent Pai Yu Po of Chinese Taipei withdrew from the match with injury.

After lightwork in her opening round contest, Sindhu will next face either fourth seed Han Yue of China or Pornpawee Chochuwong of Thailand in the second round on Thursday (October 17).

Apart from Sindhu's win, it was a disappointing opening day at the Denmark Open for Indians as several shuttlers, including Lakshya Sen, crashed out as early as the first round.

Sen, who had returned to the court last week in the Arctic Open, went down fighting against China's Lu Guangzu in the opening round on Tuesday (October 15). Sen, who took the lead, could not maintain his early momentum and ultimately lost 21-12, 19-21, 14-21.

Like Sindhu, Sen also had missed most of the action since the Paris Olympics, but the Commonwealth Games champion had returned a week earlier than the former World Champion. However, he also lost in the second round of Arctic Open.

Sen was not the only singles shuttler to make an early exit from the Denmark Open. Akarshi Kashyap and Malvika Bansod also suffered first-round exits in the women's singles competition.

While Akarshi lost 13-21, 12-21 to Thailand's Supanida Katethong, Malvika also lost by the same scoreline against Nguyen Thuy Linh of Vietnam in her women's singles opener in Odense.

Also, exiting in the first round were, the Panda sisters - Rutaparna and Swetaparna, who lost to Chinese Taipei pair Chang Ching-hui and Yang Ching-tun by a scoreline of 18-21, 22-24.

The mixed doubles pair of Sathish Kumar Karunakaran and Aadya Variyath will be in action later on Tuesday (October 15), while Sathish will be in singles action on Wednesday (October 16), when the likes of Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand, Sikki Reddy-Sumeet Reddy and Unnati Hooda also will begin their campaigns.