Srikanth knocked out of Denmark Open

COPENHAGEN: Kidambi Srikanth was on Friday knocked out at the quarter-final stage of the Denmark Open, thus ending the Indian challenge at the badminton event.

In an engrossing men’s singles match that lasted 62 minutes, Srikanth lost to second seed Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei 22-20, 13-21, 16-21. Chou had the upper hand in the first game with a 6-2 lead, but the former world No.1 came back to level things at 10-10. Srikanth was in control for most of the opening game after that, although he had to stave off a late comeback from Chou to take it 22-20.

The Chinese Taipei player, however, built on the momentum and held the upper hand for most of the second game. The third game saw Chou race to a 19-11 lead after the interval, but Srikanth caused a scare with a fight back by taking the next four points on the trot. However, Chou kept his calm to finally take decider 21-16.