Srikanth keeps India's hopes alive; Saina and Prannoy bow out

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Bengaluru, October 21: Kidambi Srikanth kept India's hopes alive by knocking out local hero and world champion Viktor Axelsen 14-21, 22-20, 21-7 in the men's singles quarterfinals of the Denmark Open badminton championship.

However, India's other two hopes -- Saina Nehwal and HS Prannoy -- crashed out.

It was sweet revenge for Srikanth, who had suffered losses against Axelsen in the last three encounters, as he showed tremendous resilience and mental fortitude to oust the reigning world No. 1 in a match that last 56 minutes at the Odense Sports Park .

"This win is a confidence booster for me. I had lost to him at India Open, World Championship and Japan Open and really wanted to win. I took lot of time to get adjusted to the court but I was more patient and curbed my errors. He tried few things in the third game which didn't materialize," said Srikanth.

Earlier, Saina suffered a 10-21, 13-21 loss to Japan's world no 5 Akane Yamaguchi in women's singles.

"I didn't get enough time to rest. I've never slept at 3. I was sluggish. But I should say Yamaguchi played really well. I have to prepare more to play back to back tough matches. Anyways can't do much about it. Next is French Open," said Saina.

Prannoy, meanwhile, succumbed to a series of unforced errors, losing 13-21 18-21 to world No. 2 Korean Son Wan Ho in men's singles.

"I committed too many errors. He hardly won points. I knew I have to be patient with him but I couldn't. It was one of those days when nothing goes right," he said.