Saina and Gurusaidutt Enter Denmark Open Quarterfinals

India's Saina Nehwal and RMV Gurusaidutt entered the quarterfinals of the Denmark Open Super Series Premier at the Odense Sports Park on Thursday, while Parupalli Kashyap and Ajay Jayaram crashed out in the second round.

The 23-year-old world no.4 defeated Kirsty Gilmour of Scotland 21-12, 21-7 in the women singles in just half-an-hour, to storm into the quarterfinals of the $400,000 Denmark Open.

Saina started the game slowly, with Kirsty leading 6-3 at the start and the unforced errors did not help her. However, she found the momentum quickly and won the first game 21-12. The second game was an easy ride for the Indian, as she won 21-7.

The London Olympics bronze medalist will now meet the winner of the match between sixth seed Ji Hyun Sung of Korea and Tsz Ka Chan of Hong Kong in the quarterfinals on Friday.

In another second round game, Gurusaidutt beat Ajay Jayaram 21-15, 21-16 to enter the quarterfinals. He dominated his Indian counterpart from the very start and wrapped up the contest in style. He now has a tough contest ahead as he meets third seed Du Pengyu of China in the quarterfinals. He had defeated Pengyu in Hong Kong two years ago in their only meeting.  

On the other hand, London Olympics quarterfinalist and world no.13, Parupalli Kashyap crashed out of the tournament in the second round, losing to Jan O Jorgensen, his teammate in Indian Badminton League (IBL) franchise Banga Beats. Jorgensen dominated from the start, winning the contest 21-11, 21-15.