Denmark Open: Lakshya Sen, Prannoy, Satwiksairaj-Chirag march on; Saina Nehwal crashes out

Odense (Denmark), Oct. 19: On the second day of the Denmark Open, India's top shuttler Lakshya Sen and India's lone men's doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty cruised to comfortable wins in their respective categories at the Jyske Bank Arena.

While Indian won both men's singles contests on Wednesday, Saina Nehwal fell to an opening round loss.

Opening the day's play, seventh seeded Rankireddy and Shetty clinched a comfortable win over South Korean pair Kang Min Hyuk and Seo Seung Jae. The Indian shuttlers entered the second round of the BWF Super 750 tournament with a 21-15, 21-19 win over the South Korean men's doubles pair. The match lasted 44 minutes.

Following the men's doubles win, CWG medallist Lakshya Sen cruised to a comfortable win in his opening round of the men's singles contest. Playing on Court 1, Sen handed Indonesia's Anthony Sinisuka Ginting a 21-16, 21-12 win. The 21-year-old Sen handed the sixth seeded Ginting a straight games loss in the 39-minute men's singles contest.

In the other men's singles contest, HS Prannoy handed Chinese shuttler Zhao Jun Peng a straight game loss in the opening round. In a 43-minute game, Prannoy handed Peng a 21-12, 22-20 defeat.

But it was the end of the road for India in the women's singles category. While PV Sindhu missed out on the tournament due to injury, Saina Nehwal, the only Indian in the women's singles category, fell to a first-round loss.

Facing China's Zhang Yi Man in the first round of the women's singles contest, Nehwal fell to a 17-21, 21-19, 11-21 loss in a match that lasted 48 minutes.

Earlier, on the opening day, Kidambi Srikanth opened his campaign with a win over Hong Kong's Ng Ka Long Angus. The Indian doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand also opened their account with a win on Tuesday.