Ouseph falls at first hurdle in Denmark

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Rajiv Ouseph twice squandered leads as he was beaten by Commonwealth champion Kashyap Parupalli in the first round of the Denmark Open on Wednesday.

Hounslow’s world number 29 had met Parupalli in the semis of each of the last two Commonwealth Games, beating the Indian in Delhi in 2010 before losing a three-game thriller in Glasgow in August.

Howver, although Ouseph was in front in both games in their latest clash, it was Parupalli who emerged triumphant in Odense, 21-15, 21-18.

Ouseph led 11-7 in the opener before Parupalli picked up 14 out of 18 points to come through.

The west Londoner looked on course to take the match into a decider as he moved into a 13-10 lead in the second game.

That was reduced to 18-17, at which point Parupalli unleashed two successive smash winners from mid-court to dramatically switch the momentum.

A point later, a tight drop forced Ouseph to net as Parupalli suddenly found himself with three match points, needing only one of them to advance.

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