Denmark Open: P V Sindhu loses in quarters
Odense(PTI): Returning to action after a break, India's double Olympic medallist P V Sindhu on Friday bowed out of the Denmark open badminton tournament after losing in straight games to world no 8 Korean An Seyoung in the women's singles quarterfinals here.
Playing her first tournament since winning the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics in August, Sindhu couldn't match her fifth seeded young Korean rival, going down 11-21 12-21 in 36 minutes.
Sindhu had also lost to An Seyoung in straight games the last time they clashed here two years ago in their only career meeting.
The reigning world champion, who had taken a break to rejuvenate after a hectic Olympics campaign, just couldn't find a way across the attacking game of the Korean, who was always a step ahead during the contest.
An Seyoung made a superb start and took just six minutes to grab a massive seven-point lead at the break with Sindhu unable to find a crack in the Korean's game.
The Indian tried to control the net but committed few unforced errors with the Korean showing great athleticism to return everything thrown at her.
The Korean dominated the forecourt and played some exceptional shots, including a few diving forehand returns, to lead 16-8. In the end, Sindhu netted to give 10 game points to the Korean, who sealed the opening game when the Indian erred again.
Sindhu tried to change her tactics by playing high lifts but she was not disciplined enough and after trailing 7-8 at one stage, she slipped to 8-11 at the break.
It was a one-way traffic after the interval as An Seyoung jumped to 20-10 in a jiffy. Sindhu saved two match points before committing another error.
In men's singles, Sameer Verma retired from his quarterfinals after losing the first game 17-21 against Indonesia's Tommy Sugiarto, a bronze winner at the 2014 World Championships.
Verma had notched up a stunning straight-game win over world no.3 Anders Antonsen to storm into the quarterfinals on Thursday night.
Coming into the match with a dismal 1-5 head-to-head count, Sameer showed great athleticism and tactical acumen to down Antonsen, a silver medallist at the 2019 World Championships.
World No 28 Sameer, who had qualified for the World Tour Finals in 2018 after winning three titles, produced a sensational performance to outwit local hero Antonsen 21-14 21-18 in a 50-minute men's singles battle.
It was also curtains for Lakshya Sen at the Super 1000 tournament here. It proved to be too daunting a task for him to match Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen as he thrashed the Indian 21-15 21-7 in a lop-sided second-round contest.
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Air India flights to North America, Europe to use alternative routes
New Delhi (PTI): Air India will operate its flights to North America and Europe using alternative routes over available airspaces in the Middle East and cancel six flights to various European cities on March 2.
The airline, which cancelled 50 international flights on Sunday, said it would extend suspension of all flights to and from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Qatar till 23:59 hours (IST) on March 2.
In a post on X on Sunday, the carrier said six flights, including Amritsar-Birmingham (AI117) and Birmingham-Delhi (AI114), would be cancelled on Monday.
Besides, AI151 and A152 flights between Delhi and Zurich, as well as AI157 and AI158 flights between Delhi and Copenhagen, would be cancelled on Monday.
“All other flights to North America and Europe will operate as per schedule using alternative routings over available airspaces in the Middle East, which is expected to add to the flying times.
"Additionally, flights to New York (JFK) and Newark (Liberty International) will operate with technical stops at Rome (Fiumicino Airport)," Air India said.
With stops in Rome, the flying time for Air India flights to North America would increase and also result in increased operating expenses.
Since the Iran and Iraq airspaces remain closed, officials said the airline would take the Egypt route to reach Europe, which would mean 30-40 minutes of additional flying time.
The flights would take the route through Oman, the southern part of Saudi Arabia and Egypt for European and North American destinations, the officials added.
The airline also said that it continues to closely monitor the situation and has carefully assessed the evolving circumstances across multiple parameters, including safety, security, airspace availability, and operational feasibility, before deciding on these operations for March 2.
In the wake of the escalating Middle East crisis, flight operations have been significantly disrupted, with the civil aviation ministry saying Indian carriers cancelled 350 international flights on Sunday.
