Odense: Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia showed few signs of rust on Wednesday as he returned to action after an early exit at Korea Open almost one month ago, beating No. 8 seed Indian shuttler Parupalli Kashyap 21-14, 21-15 in the first round of the Denmark Open.
The Malaysian’s court speed was breathtaking, and his relentless attack has pressured P. Kashyap to run all over the court just to return shots before Lee won the first set with a direct smash towards Kashyap’s backhand.
P. Kashyap put up some solid resistance early in the second set. After the interval, Lee again showed his exquisite touch and become an increasingly aggressive player, pushing Kashyap into defensive mode with his lightening smashes. Lee ultimately fired a powerful crosscourt smash towards Kashyap’s left hand to score the match point, claiming victory in 47 minutes. This win extended Lee’s head to head record over Kashyap to 7-0.
Men’s singles No. 1 seed Chen Long had an easy first set win against Vincent Wong Wing Ki of Hong Kong with 21-12. But Wong turned on his A game in the second set, fighting from 19-20 to force deuce before finally succumbing to Chen, losing the second set 20-22.
No. 3 seed Lin Dan also eased into the second round with a straightforward defeat of Raul Must 21-15, 21-18 and will face Hu Yun of Hong Kong next.
Women’s singles No. 1 seed Saina Nehwal however survived a major scare in the opening round, beating Busanan Ongbumrungphan of Thailand 23-21, 14-21, 21-18 in 69 minutes to play Minatsu Mitani on Thursday.
World champion Carolina Marin was barely troubled by Chinese shuttler Sun Yu, as she cruised into the second round at Denmark Open with a straight sets win 21-10, 21-15 on Wednesday.
Despite putting up a good fight and played better than everyone thought they would, Amelia Alicia Anscelly/Soong Fie Cho came close to toppling women’s doubles No. 8 seeds Ma Jin/Tang Yuanting. Amelia Alicia Anscelly/Soong Fie Cho ended their opening match in disappointment, finishing 17-21, 13-21, 19-21 in 66 minutes.
Another Malaysian women’s doubles Vivian Hoo/Woon Khe Wei held on, thought, and avoided a decider by fending off Heather Olver/Lauren Smith of England 21-11, 22-20 in 41 minutes.
Malaysian men’s doubles pair Goh V Shem/Tan Wee Kiong who felt intense competitive pressure from compatriots Koo Kien Keat/Tan Boon Heong for Rio Olympics qualification, looked sluggish in the first set against No. 4 seeds Mathias Boe/Carsten Mogensen of Denmark on Wednesday. The Malaysian pair made couple adjustments before they stormed back to win the second set. But despite the Malaysians gutsy display that pushed the Danes to their limits in the decider, they couldn’t finished off the third set, losing the match 15-21, 21-19, 20-22 in 69 minutes. Mathias Boe/Carsten Mogensen will take on Angga Pratama/Ricky Karanda Suwardi of Indonesia in the second round.
