Odense (Denmark): India's Kidambi Srikanth dished out a dominating show to outclass England's Toby Penty in straight games in his opening round match at the Denmark Open.
The former world No. 1, who had claimed four super series titles in 2017, beat Toby 21-12, 21-18 in 37 minutes, as the sport finally got going after the long coronavirus-forced hiatus.
The fifth seed will next face Canada's Jason Anthony Ho-Shue, who defeated India's Subhankar Dey 21-13, 21-8 in a lop-sided contest.
Former world No. 13 Ajay Jayaram also couldn't cross the opening hurdle, going down 12-21, 14-21 to world No. 3 Anders Antonsen of Denmark in 37 minutes.
Srikanth and Lakshya Sen are now the only surviving Indians in the competition.
Lakshya had already reached the second round with a straight game win over Christo Popov on Tuesday. He will face Hans-Kristian Solberg Vittinghus of Denmark in his next round.
The 19-year-old Indian, who claimed five titles including two Super 100 tournaments last year, produced a clinical performance to outwit Popov 21-9, 21-15 to reach the second round.
Denmark Open Super 750 is the only event happening this year as the BWF was forced to cancel multiple tournaments and postpone the Asia leg and the World Tour Final to next year.
