Odense: Two-time Olympic champion Lin Dan suffered his seventh first-round exit of the year when he experienced a shocked defeat at the Denmark Open on Tuesday.
Lin lost to India’s Sai B. Praneeth 14-21, 17-21 in 35 minutes. This was Lin’s third consecutive first-round exits after the China Open and Korea Open.
Prior to Tuesday’s match, Lin held a 2-0 career meeting record against Praneeth, which his latest victory against Praneeth was at the 2019 New Zealand Open where Lin outlasted Praneeth in the second round 21-12, 21-12.
On Oct 14, Lin who celebrated his 36th birthday in Denmark, posted the following message on his social media page: “For an athlete, this age may be a bit too old. But for a person who is ready to dedicate his entire life to badminton, 36 years old is just a beginning.”
In the Race to Tokyo – BWF Olympic Qualification ranking, Lin Dan is now ranked 18th with 28,230 points. He received 2,660 points with his Denmark Open first round exit. Lin will next play at the French Open, and will face Sai B. Praneeth again the opener.
In mixed doubles, Malaysia’s Goh Soon Huat/Shevon Jemie Lai overcame Sam Magee/Chloe Magee of Ireland 19-21, 21-13, 21-15 to advance to the second round. They will face No. 8 seeds Tang Chun Man/Tse Ying Suet of Hong Kong next.
Chow Mei Kuan/Lee Meng Yean of Malaysia also outlasted Delphine Delrue/Lea Palermo of France 20-22, 21-8, 21-13 to enter the women’s doubles second round. Chow/Lee will next play Puttita Supajirakul/Sapsiree Taerattanachai of Thailand.
