India’s Kidambi Srikanth knocked out local hero and World champion Viktor Axelsen in men’s singles quarter-finals of the Denmark Open on Saturday, reported PTI. However, it was curtains for Saina Nehwal and HS Prannoy, who crashed out with straight game losses.

Srikanth, who had suffered losses against Axelsen in the last three encounters, beat the reigning world No 1 14-21, 22-20, 21-7 in a match that last 56 minutes.

“This win is a confidence booster for me. I had lost to him at India Open and Japan Open and really wanted to win. I took lot of time to get adjusted to the court but I was more patient and curbed my errors. He tried few things in the third game which didn’t materialize,” said Srikanth.

Earlier, Nehwal suffered a 10-21, 13-21 loss to Japans world no 5 and defending champion Akane Yamaguchi in their women’s singles encounter.

“I didnt get enough time to rest. I’ve never slept at 3. I was sluggish. But I should say Yamaguchi played really well. I have to prepare more to play back to back tough matches. Anyways can’t do much about it. Next is French Open,” said Nehwal.

Meanwhile, Prannoy was outclassed 13-21, 18-21 by world No 2 Korean Son Wan Ho. “I committed too many errors. He hardly won points. I knew I have to be patient with him but I couldn’t. It was one of those days when nothing goes right,” he said.

Srikanth triumphs

There was a lot of expectation from Axelsen, who was playing on his home turf. He began with a positive start as he zoomed to a 6-1 lead early on and managed to earn an 11-6 advantage at the interval.

Srikanth grabbed six points on the trot but committed too many unforced errors along the way. However, Axelsen showed ample display of his athleticism as he returned twice from awkward positions and eventually held seven game points, which he converted after Srikanth’s smash went wide.

The second game started with Srikanth taking a 5-3 lead when Axelsen misjudged a shot at the baseline and found the net in the next. The Indian dominated and reached 10-7 with Axelsen faltering with a net dribble.

However, Axelsen produced two powerful smashes which Srikanth failed to negotiate to lead 11-10. The Indian made two good judgement calls at the baseline and helped by his rival’s net error held a 15-14 lead.

Axelsen again grabbed a two-point lead at 18-16 when Srikanth pushed the shuttle long. The Dane went to 19-17 with a net exchange. However, Srikanth managed to grab a 20-19 lead with a smash. A precise on the line smash by Srikanth and a net error by Axelsen finally took the match to decider.

In the third game, Axelsen surged to 3-1 lead before Srikanth erased the deficit with a jump smash and led 5-3 when his rival went wide and found the net. The Dane continued to commit unforced errors and one such wide return earned Srikanth a healthy 11-4 lead.

After the break, Axelsen simply couldn’t keep the shuttle on the court and eventually handed the match to the Indian with two net errors.