Star Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal stormed into the quarter-finals of the Denmark Open, defeating second seed Akane Yamaguchi in the second round match here on Thursday. [caption id=“attachment_4855001” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Saina Nehwal, Kidambi Srikanth, Tai Tzu Ying. Agencies[/caption] In a match which lasted 36 minutes, the Hyderabadi shuttler outplayed Japanese shuttler Yamaguchi 21-15, 21-17 in straight games. Right from the start, Saina seemed positive and played aggressively. Her swift court movements and powerful smashes helped her to advance in the meet. Saina will now take on former world champion Nozomi Okuhara in the quarters. In other matches, Sameer Verma advanced, defeating Jonatan Christie of Indonesia in a 23-21, 6-21, 22-20 marathon match of more than an hour. In the women’s doubles category, Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy also made it to the next round as they edged past Lee So Hee and Shin Seung Chan of South Korea. The Indian duo defeated their opponent 18-21, 22-20, 21-18 in an hour’s match. Kidambi Srikanth defeated the legendary Lin Dan for the second time in his career to set up an all-Indian quarterfinal against Sameer Verma at the Denmark Open here. World number six Srikanth bounced back to beat the world number 14 from China 18-21, 21-17, 21-16 in the second round clash played on Thursday night. Dan, a two-time Olympic gold medallist and five-time world champion, is not the player he used to be but is still a force to reckon with. It was a fifth meeting between Srikanth and Dan and the Chinese great won the last time they played, in the quarterfinals of the 2016 Rio Olympics. Srikanth had famously scored his maiden win over Dan to win the 2014 China Open. After a tough match against the Chinese, Srikanth will have to play fellow Indian Verma in the quarterfinals to be held later on Friday.
Highlights, Denmark Open 2018 results: Saina Nehwal beats Nozomi Okuhara to enter semis; Kidambi Srikanth wins
Catch the live scores and updates of the quarter-final matches at the Denmark Open as Saina Nehwal, Kidambi Srikanth and Sameer Verma eye place in the semi-finals.
 "Highlights, Denmark Open 2018 results: Saina Nehwal beats Nozomi Okuhara to enter semis; Kidambi Srikanth wins")
That brings us to the end of today’s play at the Denmark Open.
Overall, a good day for Indian shuttlers. Srikanth edges past Sameer to enter semis, while Saina brushed aside another Japanese shuttler Okuhara in three games. Hope you enjoyed our coverage. We’ll be back tomorrow. Until then, take care!
Indians
Srikanth faces World No 1 Momota
Saina faces Gregoria Mariska of Indonesia
Hirota and Fukushima enter semis
The World No 1 pair dominated the Indian duo of Ashwini Ponnappa and Sikki Reddy 21-14, 21-12. They couldn’t match the pace of the game and had a minimal on-court combination.
ICYMI: Here’s a short clip to sum up Saina’s win over Nozomi Okuhara in the quarter-finals.
DANISA DENMARK OPEN 2018 | Badminton WS - QF - Highlights #badminton #HSBCBWFbadminton pic.twitter.com/jb8Kdv7eUs
— BWF (@bwfmedia) October 19, 2018
11-7! A four-point lead for Hirota and Fukushima
— Firstpost Sports (@FirstpostSports) October 19, 2018
India's doubles coach Tan Kim Her looks worried as Ponnappa and Reddy struggle at the net
LIVE: https://t.co/O996Ad1e6W#DenmarkOpen2018
Hirota-Fukushima win first game: 21-14
Sixteen minutes to the openings and the Japanese shuttler have proved their class with elan. Ponnappa and Reddy haven’t really trouled.
Ashwini and Sikki are yet to gel as a pair. Hirota and Fukushima have combined well so far.
India's Ashwini Ponnappa and Sikki Reddy trail 6-11 at the mid-game break of the opening game against Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota of Japan
— Firstpost Sports (@FirstpostSports) October 19, 2018
LIVE: https://t.co/O996AdiOYu#DenmarkOpen2018
Women’s doubles
Next up, India’s Ashwini Ponnappa and Sikki Reddy face Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota of Japan in the women’s doubles quarter-finals.
The two pairs met at the World Badminton Championships earlier this year, where the Japanese duo won 21-14, 21-15.
Saina powers into semis!
The former champion beats reigning world champion Nozomi Okuhara 17-21, 21-16, 21-12 to enter the semi-finals. Saina used her strategies really well to stretch Nozomi Okuhara, who was forced to play from the back of the court. Full marks to Saina for adhering to the plan and hitting winners.
Okuhara looks in deep trouble.
An 11-3 advantage for Saina at the change of ends
— Firstpost Sports (@FirstpostSports) October 19, 2018
Okuhara looks a little dispirited at the moment. Meanwhile, Saina has been mixing her shots perfectly
LIVE: https://t.co/O996AdiOYu#DenmarkOpen2018
Saina makes it 1-1!
A proven fighter. Saina Nehwal gets the better of Okuhara after the interval to wrap up the second game 21-16. The Indian shuttler looks a little more aggressive, while Okuhara a little dispirited.
Can Saina go all the way?
Kashyap, who is sitting behind Saina, has been constantly asking Saina to push Okuhara towards the back. He looks animated.
11-10! Okuhara has a slender lead over Saina at the mid-game break of the second game
— Firstpost Sports (@FirstpostSports) October 19, 2018
Parupalli Kashyap is asking Saina to push her opponent towards the backcourt. Will this strategy work for the 28-year-old shuttler?
LIVE: https://t.co/O996AdiOYu#DenmarkOpen2018
Okuhara claims opening game: 21-16
The reigning world champion always maintained the pressure on Saina throughout the match. Saina did try to reply by staying resilient but Okuhara mastered the net game to go 1-0 up.
Break time!
Okuhara leads 11-6 at the mid-game interval of the first game
— Firstpost Sports (@FirstpostSports) October 19, 2018
Saina hasn't been able to use the drift perfectly
LIVE: https://t.co/O996AdiOYu#DenmarkOpen2018
Popcorn? Ready? Love all-play!
.@NSaina is in action against reigning world champion @nozomi_o11 in the quarter-finals
— Firstpost Sports (@FirstpostSports) October 19, 2018
Catch the live updates here
LIVE: https://t.co/O996AdiOYu#DenmarkOpen2018 pic.twitter.com/cV61zzF947
Nozomi Okuhara vs Saina Nehwal
In the wake of the shock loss suffered by her compatriot, PV Sindhu, in the opening round of the $775,000 prize money event, Saina was saddled with the task of carrying the Indian pennant forward in the women’s singles, for a quarter-final duel on Friday against Nozomi Okuhara of Japan.
The eighth-seeded 2017 world champion, meanwhile, efficiently dispatched her fellow-countrywoman, Saena Kawakami, by a 21-15, 21-14 margin, after beating Thailand’s Nitchaon Jindapol by a much tighter scoreline at 21-19, 21-18 in her opening joust.
Okuhara, it will be remembered, saved four match-points against Saina in the quarter-finals of the Korea Open, and won the final six points of their no-holds-barred encounter, to go on to successfully defend her crown in Seoul. Friday’s meeting – the 11th between the two, with the Indian leading 6-4, but with defeats in their most recent three duels – will give the Gopichand Academy trainee a gilt-edged opportunity of gaining revenge for her heart-breaking reverse at the last-eight stage of the Korea Open.
SRIKANTH EDGES PAST SAMEER!
What a match, what a brilliant match! Both Srikanth and Sameer exhibited end-to-end stuff as all the three games presented the best of attacking badminton. However, it was the defending champion to had the last laugh as he registers a narrow 22-20, 19-21, 23-21 win.
Srikanth will face World No 1 Kento Momota tomorrow!
20-20!
It’s all happening here. Told you all, there’s hardly anything to separate the two Indian shuttlers. This is the third consecutive match that has gone down the wire.
18-18! Oh, there’s a sign of a late comeback here.
Srikanth levels the score in the deciding game. A rare lapse of concentration from Sameer cost him three points.
Sameer is inching closer towards causing an upset!
11-7! Sameer Verma looks in great touch as he opens up a four-point lead over defending champion Srikanth
— Firstpost Sports (@FirstpostSports) October 19, 2018
LIVE: https://t.co/O996AdiOYu#DenmarkOpen2018
The third and final game is underway!
3-3! There is nothing, absolutely nothing to separate these two Pullela Gopichand Academy graduates. Srikanth and Sameer have played some great forehand strokes.
Sameer Verma makes it 1-1!
Great stuff from Sameer to snatch the second game 21-19 from Srikanth. Time for the deciding game here. Both shuttlers look really pumped up after 48 minutes of attacking badminton.
16-16!
What a tight encounter this is turning out to be. Both players are now locked at 16 points. Srikanth looks aggressive but has struggled defensively.
A two-point lead for Srikanth at the break. Has he found his touch then?
Srikanth leads 11-9 at the mid-game interval of the second game
— Firstpost Sports (@FirstpostSports) October 19, 2018
Can Sameer find a way to make a comeback?
LIVE: https://t.co/O996Ad1e6W#DenmarkOpen2018
22-20 in favour of Sri
Sameer must be feeling terrible after missing out on bagging the opening game by a whisker. He troubled the defending champion but it wasn’t enough as Srikanth found his rhythm just in time.
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