Denmark Open: Kidambi Srikanth beats Lin Dan to enter into the quarter-finals

Ace Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth got the better of Lin Dan to enter into the quarter-finals of the Denmark Open where he is set to face fellow countryman Sameer Verma.

The Hyderabadi shuttler came back after losing the first match to put on an excellent display that shut the doors of the campaign on Dan as Srikanth emerged victorious 18-21, 21-17, 21-16 on Thursday.

Also read: Denmark Open: Saina Nehwal upsets second seed Akane Yamaguchi to enter quarter-finals

A former Olympic gold medallist, Dan is well past his prime but Srikanth, facing him for the fifth time, ensured that the result was on his favour this time after he was ousted by the iconic star shuttler in their last meeting at the quarter-finals of the Rio Olympics 2016.

This was Srikanth’s second win over Dan with his first victory coming in the 2014 China Open final.

This hard-fought victory over the five-time world champion sets Srikanth for an all-Indian quarter-final against Verma who defeated Asian Games champion Jonathan Christie in the second round.

Saina Nehwal, who had earlier defeated Akane Yamaguchi of Japan would face eighth-seeded Nozomi Okuhara in the quarter-final. Also, Ashwini Ponanappa and N Sikki Reddy would take on Japan’s Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota in the women’s doubles.

Image credit- DNA India