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The Indian shuttlers had a mixed day with Saina Nehwal cruising into the final while Kidambi Srikanth was knocked out of the tournament in the semi-finals of Super 750 level tournament played at Odense Park, Denmark on Saturday.
Kidambi Srikanth lost to Japanese Kento Momota in straight games. It was a disappointing performance by the Indian shuttler in the entire match. In the first game, Momota began well, taking an early 5-3 lead.
Srikanth came back strongly to take 4 points in succession for a 7-5 lead. The Japanese played brilliant badminton and from 6-9 down, levelled the score at 10-10. At the interval, Momota led 11-10. After the interval, Momota played superb badminton and won first game 21-16.
It was a decent start in the 2nd game as both players took alternate points till 4-4. The Japanese player, Momota showed aggression and did not allow Srikanth to play his natural game. At the interval, the Japanese player led 11-7. After the interval, Momota continued in superb style and won the second game easily, by a score of 21-12, to progress into the final.
Saina Nehwal moved into the final of Denmark Open 2018 with a convincing straight-game win over Tunjung. It was a dominating performance by Saina who outplayed her opponent in an easy manner.
The first game started on a positive note, where she took a commanding 6-3 lead. The Indian shuttler continued to put pressure with aggressive badminton. At the interval, Saina led 11-5. After the interval, Saina did not allow her opponent to come back into the game and won the first game easily, at 21-11.
The second game saw a similar type of performance by Saina Nehwal. She played with aggression and took a commanding 7-3 lead. Tunjung took 4 points in succession to level the scores at 7-7. At the interval, Saina led 11-8. After the interval, the Indian was aggressive and won the second game 21-12 to move into the final.
In the final, Saina will take on Tai Tzu Ying. The Indian has been in sensational form during this tournament so far and would be looking to play her best to win against the top-ranked player.
