Former champion Kidambi Srikanth's journey at the Denmark Open Super 750 ended abruptly on Thursday in Odense. He suffered a straight-game loss to Singapore's Loh Kean Yew in the pre-quarterfinals, falling 13-21, 15-21 in a contest that lasted 35 minutes. Srikanth, who previously claimed the title here in 2017 and earned a silver medal at the 2021 World Championships, entered the match with a neutral 1-1 record against his opponent.
Former champion Kidambi Srikanth crashed out of the Denmark Open Super 750 tournament after suffering a straight-game defeat to Loh Kean Yew of Singapore in the pre-quarterfinals in Odense on Thursday. Srikanth lost to the seventh-seeded opponent 13-21, 15-21 in a match that lasted 35 minutes. Srikanth, the 2021 World Championships silver medalist, had won the title here in 2017. The 29-year-old Indian shuttler had a head-to-head record of 1-1 against Yew before Thursday’s match.
Although the world no. 11, Srikanth, started the first game with a slight advantage, Loh quickly recovered to take the lead. The second game saw the Singaporean, currently ranked world no. 5, take complete control. Using a versatile attack of drives, drops, and smashes, Loh displayed exceptional speed and defensive precision, leaving Srikanth struggling to find a way back into the match.
Despite a determined effort to stay competitive in the second set, Srikanth was unable to push the match into a decider, eventually losing 15-21. This result gives Loh Kean Yew a 2-1 edge in their career meetings and guarantees him a place in the quarterfinals.
Srikanth's departure comes after a resilient performance in his opening bout against Ng Ka Long. In that match, he managed to overturn an initial first-game deficit to win 17-21, 21-14, 21-12. However, he simply couldn't match the intensity Loh brought to their Round of 16 clash.
Over in the men's doubles category, the seventh-seeded Indian pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty cruised into the quarterfinals. They delivered a dominant performance, defeating Indonesia's Muhammad Shohibul Fikri and Bagas Maulana in straight games, 21-14, 21-16, showing great promise for the rest of the event in Odense.
The duo maintained their momentum with a commanding display of skill, dispatching the All England Champions in just 36 minutes. Their next challenge will be a quarterfinal showdown against the fourth-seeded Malaysians, Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik.
In the men's singles bracket, another internal battle saw world no. 8 Lakshya Sen move past his fellow countryman HS Prannoy. Sen entered the quarterfinals after a 39-minute match, winning with scores of 21-9 and 21-18.
This victory gives the 21-year-old Sen a 3-2 lead in his head-to-head series against Prannoy, who had previously beaten him at the Indonesia Open and the BWF World Championships. Lakshya's next opponent in the quarterfinals will be Japan's Kodai Naraoka.