Home player Srikanth Kidambi will be hoping to win the India Open for a second time after victory in 2015 ©Getty Images

The top seeds at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) India Open all made it through their first round matches at the Siri Fort Indoor Stadium in New Dehli.

Indian home player Srikanth Kidambi, the new favourite following the withdrawal of Denmark's Viktor Axelsen before the tournament, defeated Hong Kong's Lee Cheuk Yiu 21-17, 21-18 in the men’s singles in this HSBC BWF World Tour Super 500 event. 

Third seed Chou Tien-chen of Chinese Taipei beat Denmark’s Rasmus Gemke 21-16, 21-15

There was a shock in the men’s singles, though, as Indian fifth seed Prannoy Kumar was convincingly beaten by qualifier and compatriot Shreyansh Jaiswal 21-4, 21-6.

Number one seed PV Sindhu of India won her match against Denmark’s Natalia Koch Rohde by a 21-10, 21-13 scoreline in the women’s singles.

Number two seed and Olympic champion Carolina Marín of Spain overcame Thai qualifier Mattana Hemrachatanun 21-15, 21-11.

Indonesia duo Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo made short work of their Danish opponents Kasper Antonsen and Niclas Nohr, beating them 21-13, 21-16 in just 26 minutes to reach the second round of the men's doubles.

Denmark's Olympic silver medallists Kamilla Rytter Juhl, right, and Christinna Pedersen, left, won their opening match at the BWF India Open to live up to their favourites tag ©Getty Images
Denmark's Olympic silver medallists Kamilla Rytter Juhl, right, and Christinna Pedersen, left, won their opening match at the BWF India Open to live up to their favourites tag ©Getty Images

There was still success for Danish players today in the men's doubles as second seeds Carsten Mogensen and Mathias Boe defeated United States duo Ryan and Philip Chew 21-15, 21-4.

There was yet more joy for Denmark in the women's doubles as tournament favourites and Olympic silver medallists Kamilla Rytter Juhl and Christinna Pedersen defeated home athletes HM Harinarayanan and Mukherjee Riya 21-11, 21-7.

The highest-seeded Indian pairing, Ashwini Ponnappa and N. Sikki Reddy, ranked sixth, defeated compatriots Shenan Christian and Riya Gajjar 21-9, 21-11 to reach the next round.

Following the withdrawal of Indonesia's Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir and England's Chris and Gabrielle Adcock, the top seeded pair in the mixed doubles is Tan Kian Meng and Lai Pei Jing of Malaysia.

Tan and Lai lived up to their new billing as tournament favourites today with a 21-13, 21-14 victory over India's Saurabh Sharma and Anoushka Parikh.

Fellow Malaysians and original fourth seeds Goh Soon Huat and Shevon Jemie Lai came through a tie against unseeded Danish pairing Anders Rasmussen and Line Line Kjærsfeldt by a 21-14, 21-16 scoreline.

The competition is due to continue tomorrow.