Tokyo: Third-seeded Anders Antonsen crashed out in the first round of the world championships yesterday but top-ranked fellow Dane Viktor Axelsen was a ruthless winner.
Former world No.1 Kento Momota launched his bid for a third men's singles world title in front of his home fans with a 21-16, 21-14 win over Lino Munoz of Mexico.
Antonsen, the 2019 world silver medallist, fell behind early and never managed to get a foothold in a 21-15, 21-19 loss to Japan's Kenta Nishimoto in the opening round (last 64) of the men's singles competition.
The 25-year-old Antonsen was playing his first competitive match in three months after pulling an abdominal muscle in May and said it "felt a bit strange just to suddenly be on court again".
"I felt like I played better and better and it was a shame that I didn't make the comeback in the second game, I was so close," said Antonsen.
"It's my first match in a long time so I just need to get back to competition. Today was the beginning."
Axelsen lived up to his billing as the world No.1 with a straightforward 21-16, 21-12 win over Malaysia's Daren Liew.
Axelsen was pleased to safely negotiate his way past the world No.29.
"Every first round is always tricky. Daren is an experienced opponent, he's a really good player when he plays well," said Axelsen. "I really had to step up in big parts of the game today and I'm really happy about how I managed to deal with everything."
China's Shi Yuqi returned to action for the first time in 10 months after serving a ban and beat Azerbaijan's Ade Resky Dwicahyo 22-20, 21-10.
Thailand's 16th seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn beat Indonesia's Tommy Sugiarto 21-17, 21-10.
Compatriot Sitthikom Thammasin rallied to upset home player Kanta Tsuneyama 13-21, 21-16, 21-13.
In the women's doubles, Thai sisters Benyapa and Nuntakarn Aimsaard defeated Estonia's Kati-Kreet Marran and Helina Ruutel 21-14, 21-9.
In the women's singles, Indonesia's Gregoria Mariska Tunjung beat Kirsty Gilmour of Scotland 24-22, 21-7 to set up a second-round clash with top-ranked Akane Yamaguchi of Japan.
World No.17 Kristy is badminton's highest-ranked openly gay player.