Odense (Denmark), Oct 16 (IANS) India’s R.M.V Gurusaidutt and Ajay Jayaram caused major upsets on the opening day of the Denmark Open Superseries Premier badminton tournament here Wednesday.
Saina Nehwal, Parupalli Kashyap too began well while compatriot P.V. Sindhu was sent packing in the first round.
Jayaram dismissed Thailand’s World No.8 Boonsak Ponsana 21-11, 21-14 in the men’s singles first round. The Indian had lost to Ponsana in their first meeting back in 2010.
In the next round, he meets compatriot – and World No.24 – Gurusaidutt, who shocked No.11 Yun Hu of Hong Kong 21-17, 21-14. It was Gurusaidutt’s first win over Yun.
Kashyap, India’s highest-ranked player at 13, did not have to do much in his opener. He advanced in the competition after his opponent Darren Liew retired while the Indian was leading 11-4 in the first game.
World No.4 Saina defeated 64th-ranked Stefani Stoeva of Bulgaria 21-16, 21-12 in the women’s singles first round. The top-ranked Indian next faces Scot Kirsty Gilmour.
Tenth-ranked Sindhu lost a hard fought battle against No.18 Eriko Hirose from Japan, 19-21, 20-22 in 50 minutes.
