Srikanth Kidambi lost the opportunity to bag his second India Open 2019 men's singles title as he faced a 7-21, 20-22 defeat from Danish player Viktor Axelsen during the grand final at KD Jadhav Indoor hall here on Sunday.
In the first set, Kidambi looked helpless as the world number four dominated and concluded the set by 21-7 to have an easy win.
The second set too started off in a similar manner as Axelsen took the lead but Kidambi regained some momentum and took a lead of one point 16-15 and continued with his good performance to have a two-point lead 20-18.
But Axelsen made a strong comeback, won four back-to-back points to wrap up the game and clinched the title off Kidambi's hand by winning the second set as well by 20-22.
In 2015, Kidambi faced Axelsen for India open finals but that year, Kidambi overpowered Axelsen to win his first India Open title.
The prize money for the winner this year is USD 350,000.
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