China Open: Kidambi Srikanth off to a winning start

Ace Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth on Wednesday kick-started his China Open campaign on a winning note as he defeated Rasmus Gemke of Denmark in the opening round of men's singles event.

The 25-year-old registered a convincing 21-9, 21-19 victory against his Denmark opponent in a clash that lasted 30 minutes.

Making a storming start to the match, Srikanth took a quick lead of five points in the opening game and went on to clinch the game with a huge margin of 21-9.

The second game started on a steady note as both shuttlers were locked at a score of 1-1. Riding on the back of his dominating first-game victory, Srikanth looked in a hurry to seal the match as he went on to earn two immediate points.

Gemke, this time, did not give in easily, as he collected four points on a trot to make the scoreline read 6-4 in his favour.

The Denmark shuttler maintained his lead in the game until Srikanth stunned him with his trademark hitting on the court.

The game was close as both the players were at the score of 19 each. The Indian shuttler, then, collected two consecutive points to register the game and match to his name.

On Tuesday, Indian shuttler PV Sindhu had edged past Saena Kawakami of Japan 21-15, 21-13 in their first-round clash of the tournament.