India endured a mixed opening day at the Denmark Open as two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen suffered first-round exits, while Kidambi Srikanth and Tanvi Sharma advanced to the pre-quarterfinals with hard-fought victories on Tuesday.

Sindhu went down in a three-game thriller against Germany’s Yvonne Li, while Sen was beaten by third seed Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei in the men’s singles.

Srikanth and Tanvi, meanwhile, battled through demanding encounters to keep India’s campaign alive at the USD 950,000 BWF World Tour Super 750 tournament.

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PV Sindhu Suffers Shock Defeat Against Yvonne Li

Sindhu had a disappointing early exit after losing 21-13, 23-25, 19-21 to Yvonne Li of Germany, an opponent ranked much lower than her at SJF Bank Arena, in a contest that lasted for one hour and five minutes.

In the opening game, the Indian got off to a flying start and won 21-13. In the second game, Li was able to turn things around as she narrowly won the game 25-23 and made it 1-1. In the decider, the game was equally close as Sindhu failed to capitalize on her opportunities and lost the match after contesting the game 19-21.

Lakshya Sen Falls To Third Seed Chou Tien Chen

Lakshya Sen exited the first round after a defeat against Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei with the score of 18-21, 21-13, 15-21.

Sen was able to recover from an initial defeat and take the second game of the tie to level it at 21-13.

However, the third seed was able to successfully take control of the decider and bag the game at 21-15 to advance in the Indonesian Open competition, marking the end of Sen’s run.

Kidambi Srikanth Battles Past Arnaud Merkle

In a vital moment for the country, Srikanth has ensured India's victory by beating Arnaud Merkle of France by scores of 22-20, 21-19 within a span of 46 minutes.

In both sets, the erstwhile world number one had to put in a lot of effort to get the win but eventually managed to seal the match.

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Tanvi Sharma Keeps India's Women's Singles Hopes Alive

Young Indian shuttler Tanvi Sharma also progressed after overcoming Japan’s Natsuki Nidaira 21-17, 16-21, 21-19 in a match lasting one hour and 12 minutes.

Tanvi took the opening game but was unable to finish the contest in straight games as Nidaira levelled the match by winning the second 21-16.

The Indian held her nerve in the deciding game, edging it 21-19 to secure a hard-fought victory and book her place in the next round.