SINGAPORE - National badminton player Loh Kean Yew fell 21-19, 21-14 to Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen in the first round of the Denmark Open on Wednesday (Oct 20).

For most of the first game and half of the second, the Singaporean had kept within striking distance of the home favourite at the Odense Sports Park.

But the Danish world No. 2 stepped up at the business end of both games to carve out a victory over world No. 39 Loh in 35 minutes .

Buoyed by his victory at the lower-tier Dutch Open last week, the 24-year-old Singaporean took the game to Axelsen, whom he trained with for a month in Dubai in August and September.

However, the Dane showed superior net play to take the first game.

The duo were similarly neck-and-neck in the second, before Axelsen pulled away after 12-12.

In the women's singles, Singapore's world No. 30 Yeo Jia Min lost 21-14, 21-17 to China's world No. 9 He Bingjiao in 38 minutes.

Yeo, 22, had led He 14-12 in the first game before the 2018 World Championships bronze medallist rolled off nine points in a row.

In the second game, they were tied at 9-9, before He pulled away.