Denmark Open: PV Sindhu advances, Sai Praneeth beats Lin Dan
Indian women's singles ace badminton player PV Sindhu has advanced to the next round of the ongoing USD 775,000 Denmark Open on Tuesday. Sindhu, who is seeded fifth at the tournament, entered the women's singles pre-quarterfinals. The BWF World Championships winner overcame Gregoria Tunjung 22-20, 21-18 in a tight encounter. Here is more on the same.
Sindhu highlighted the importance of every tournament leading up to the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Olympics and said the importance of keeping fitness. "Since it's the Olympics year, each and every tournament is important. You need to be mentally and physically fit and maintain your fitness levels and give your 100 per cent in every tournament," Sindhu said to PTI.
Sindhu hasn't had an excellent run in 2019. Recently, she suffered early exits at the China Open and Korea Open last month. The Hyderabadi player, who is ranked sixth in the world, will be keen to do well in this ongoing Denmark Open.
Earlier in the day, Parupalli Kashyap lost 13-21, 12-21 to Thailand's Sitthikom Thammasin to exit from the first round itself. Last month, the veteran Kashyap had reached the semi-final of the Korea Open but suffered a straight-game defeat to world No.1 and two-time world champion Kento Momota of Japan. Meanwhile, Sourabh Verma crashed out as well after losing against Mark Caljouw 21-19, 11-21, 17-21.
Meanwhile, Saina Nehwal will be in action at the Denmark Open on Wednesday. The Indian has been going through a tough phase with fitness issues hindering her progress. Saina, who was diagnosed with agastroenteritis problem in March, made first-round exits in China and Korea. A finalist at the last edition here, Saina, seeded 8th, will face world number 12 from Japan Sayaka Takahashi.
India's Sai Praneeth defeated Lin Dan 21-14, 21-17 to advance to the next round. It was a big victory for Praneeth, who has been playing well of late. The match between H S Pranno and the higher-ranked Indonesian Anthony Sinisuka Ginting was cancelled on Tuesday.
