It’s pure joy for Loh Kean Yew to play against Naraoka Kodai. Kean Yew won a straight-game opening round match at the Denmark Open 2024 in Odense on Tuesday, extending his career record to 5-0 against Japan’s world no. 5 badminton player. Kean Yew, who is unseeded in Odense, extended his career dominance over Naraoka, facing no losses. In the first game, the two were almost tied; neither player ever took a lead of more than two points until 17–17. However, the Singaporean proceeded to score four consecutive points, which was sufficient for him to win the first game.
After that, Naraoka seemed to be winning the second game against Loh, appearing reasonably at ease and even leading by six points at 13-7. However, Loh put in a lot of effort to get closer and ultimately retreated against Naraoka, who must be questioning how he could defeat the 26-year-old player from Singapore.
Despite Naraoka saving two match points, Loh played brilliantly and finally overcame the Japanese shuttler to win 21-17, 22-20 after a fierce battle. The Japanese will undoubtedly feel unfairly treated, but in five confrontations, he has failed to overcome Loh, who is fast becoming a formidable foe. Loh’s next battle will be against Lee Cheuk Yiu from Hong Kong.
In the meantime, Viktor Axelsen, the top seed in the men’s singles draw, defeated Tanaka Yushi of Japan with ease on Tuesday, winning 21-13, 21-13 in just 40 minutes of play. Lee Zii Jia, the third-seeded player from Malaysia, withdrew from the competition late on Monday night due to an injury he suffered last week.
Meanwhile, Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen’s campaign at the Denmark Open came to a disappointing end when he lost to Lu Guangzu of China in the opening round on Tuesday. Sen got the match underway with a commanding 21-12 victory in the opening game. With his aggressive style and accurate smashes, Sen put Lu on the defensive and appeared to be on his way to an easy victory.
Sen continued to dominate, building a commanding 16-11 lead in the second game. But Lu pulled off an incredible comeback, showing incredible tenacity to narrow the deficit and win the second game 21-19, turning the tide in his favor. Sen found it difficult to regain control in the third game that decided the match, but Lu took advantage of his confidence and played consistently and strategically.
Sen tried his hardest, but he was unable to hold off Lu, who won the last game 21-14 to move to the next round and secure his victory. Sen was left to lament the wasted opportunity following a bright start. Sen’s poor showing at the Arctic Open culminates in another early exit with this loss. Sen had already lost to Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei in the tournament’s pre-quarterfinals.
PV Sindhu, a double Olympic medalist, advanced to the next round after her Chinese Taipei opponent Pai Yu Po withdrew midway into the second game, with the score reading 21-8, 13-7 in favor of the Indian. Malvika Bansod, who had advanced to the China Open quarterfinals, was unable to overcome the first obstacle and lost the women’s singles match to Nguyen Thuy Linh of Vietnam 13-21, 12-21.
Aakarshi Kashyap also faced an early exit, losing 13-21, 12-21, to seventh-seeded Thai shuttler Supanida Katethong. Panda sisters — Rutaparna and Swetaparna — also made a first-round exit after losing 18-21, 22-24 against Chinese Taipei’s Chang Ching Hui and Yang Ching Tun in women’s doubles.
