Denmark Open: Sindhu loses in quarters, Sameer retires

seeded Korean rival, going down 11-21 12-21 in 36 minutes. Sindhu had also lost to An Seyoung in straight games the last time they clashed here two years ago.

Reigning world champion Sindhu, who had taken a break to rejuvenate herself after a hectic Olympics campaign, just couldn’t find a way across the attacking game of the Korean, who was always a step ahead.

In men’s singles, Sameer Verma retired from his quarter-final fixture after losing the first game 17-21 against Indonesia’s Tommy Sugiarto. Sameer had notched up a stunning straight-game win over World No.3 Anders Antonsen on Thursday night to storm into the quarter-finals.

World No 28 Sameer, who had qualified for the World Tour Finals in 2018 after winning three titles, had produced a sensational performance to outwit local hero Antonsen 21-14, 21-18 in a 50-minute men’s singles battle.

It was also curtains for Lakshya Sen at the Super 1000 tournament here. It proved to be too daunting a task for him to match Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen as he thrashed the Indian 21-15, 21-7 in a lop-sided second-round contest on Thursday.