Copenhagen: Kenichi Tago suffered another shock early exit at the Denmark Open as he was knocked out in his opening qualifying match by world No 136 Kim Bruun of Denmark.
The world No. 39 Japanese was struggling to close out the match after he took the first set 21-11, but squandered a leading a 17-14 lead to lose to Bruun 17-21 in the second set. Tago’s stamina was no longer what it used to be, he struggled to adjust to the fast-paced game in the third set played by Bruun, who eventually wrapped up the 63 minutes match by brushing aside the Japanese 21-16 in the third set.
This was Tago’s second early exit in a row after he was defeated by Ihsan Maulana Mustofa of Indonesia 21-19, 21-17 in the first qualifying of Korea Open on September 15.
Bruun later lost his second match of the day in straight-sets to compatriot Rasmus Fladberg 20-22, 20-22.
In the first round of the mixed doubles main draw, top seeds Zhang Nan/Zhao Yunlei dispatched Indonesians Riky Widianto/Puspita Richi Dili 21-15, 21-19 in just 36 minutes. They will play Shin Baek Cheol/Yoo Jung Chae of Korea in the second round.
Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying who delivered winning point in Malaysia’s 3-2 Group D opening match upset victory against Korea at Sudirman Cup in May, beating Ko Sung-Hyun/Kim Ha-Na 23-21, 21-13, couldn’t repeat their heroic performance this time around, as the world No. 16 Malaysians simply have no answers to the devastating all-round displays from Ko/Kim, losing 21-18, 21-13 in 31 minutes.
It has been 3 years since Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying last won a Superseries title. Chan/Goh defeated Muhammad Rijal/Lilyana Natsir of Indonesia 21-12, 21-19 to lift the Japan Superseries in 2012.
