Sudirman Cup: India Lose 1-4 to Denmark in First Group Stage Tie

Barcelona defender Jules Kounde struck deep in extra time to decide a gripping Copa del Rey Clasico final on Saturday in Seville, earning his side a 3-2 win over rivals Real Madrid.

- Agencies

XIAMEN (CHINA): India's lack of bench strength came to the fore as it slumped to a crushing 1-4 defeat against Denmark with top singles stars PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy losing their matches during the team's opening Group D match at the BWF Sudirman Cup Finals, here Sunday.

Placed alongside Indonesia and England in a tough group, India needed a strong start to keep their qualification hopes alive but failed to deliver, conceding an unassailable 0-3 lead after losing the first three matches of the five-match tie.

Denmark, playing without their top singles players Viktor Axelsen and Mia Blichfeldt, still proved too strong as India's star shuttlers Prannoy and Sindhu lost their respective matches in straight games.

The mixed doubles pair of Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila opened India's campaign but went down 13-21, 14-21 to world No. 7 Jesper Toft and Amalie Magelund, handing Denmark a 1-0 lead.

Up next, HS Prannoy, still not at his physical best following a bout of chikungunya, suffered a 15-21, 16-21 defeat against world No. 3 Anders Antonsen in the men's singles. Although Prannoy fought hard to stay in contention for most parts, Antonsen pulled away at crucial junctures.

The men's doubles match turned out to be a complete mismatch as world No. 1 pair Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen demolished the inexperienced Indian duo of Hariharan Amsakarunan and Ruban Kumar Rethinasabapathi 21-7, 21-4 to seal the tie for Denmark.