Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth crashed out of the German Open Super 300 tournament after a straight-game loss to Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen here on Friday.
World No 1 Axelsen proved to be a tough client for Srikanth as he went down 10-21, 21-23 in 35 minutes.
It was India’s sixth consecutive defeat against Axelsen, whom they had defeated three times in the past, including their 2017 Denmark Open title in Odense.
Srikanth, who was playing his first event since recovering from the COVID-19 that ruled him out of the India Open, took the Dane to a 17-4 lead against Axelsen in the opening moments of the match.
Srikanth lost four points in a row, before reaching double digits with two more points, but this was not enough to stop Axelsen to win the opening game.
Srikanth did well after the change of sides to take a 3-0 lead but was momentarily 4-4.
The two continued to fight it out, leading 12-12. Srikanth then took a three-point advantage and put Axelsen ahead in the last minute to lose it.
India’s hopes now rest on the young shoulders of World Championships bronze medalist Lakshya Sen, who defeated fourth seed Anthony Sinisuka Ginting of Indonesia 21-7, 21-9 against HS Prannoy in a second round match on Thursday. Maintained momentum in the quarterfinals. Confirm your place in the semi-finals.
The 20-year-old Sen, who won his maiden Super 500 title at the India Open in January, continued his stellar form as he defeated top 10 player HS Prannoy 21-15, 21-16 in an all-India event. The quarterfinals which lasted 39 minutes.
The world number 14 had also defeated number 24 Prannoy in the quarter-finals of the India Open.
Sen will now take on top seed and former world champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark in the semi-finals on Saturday.
(with inputs from PTI)
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