Xie Xingfang of China became the first defending singles champion to lose in the first round of the All England Open Badminton Championships in 19 years on Wednesday.
The two-time defending women's champion lost to 12th-ranked Yip Pui-yin of Hong Kong 22-20, 21-19 on the opening day of the five-day tournament at the Birmingham Indoor Arena.
Defending men's doubles champions Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong also lost.
PHOTO: AFP
Defending men's champion Lin Dan overcame a shaky first game to defeat Anup Sridhar of India 16-21, 21-8, 21-11. He'll next face qualifier Eric Pang of the Netherlands.
Tien Minh Nguyen became the first Vietnamese player to reach the last 16, beating Ng Wei of Hong Kong 23-21, 21-15. He'll next face Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia.
In 1989, defending men's singles champion Ib Frederiksen of Denmark also lost on the opening day.
"It's the first time I have beaten her in three meetings," Yip said. "This is the best result of my career, apart from my silver medal at the 2006 Asian Games. I am very surprised but very happy."
If Hong Kong keeps the three players it currently has in the top 16 through to the April 30 end of the qualifying period, then it can nominate two to compete at the Beijing Olympics in August.
The top-ranked Xie was playing in her first tournament of the year after recovering from a lower back injury, and the 20-year-old Yip exploited her lack of match practice.
"Xie wasn't injured -- that wasn't a factor," China head coach Li Yongbo said. "Yip Pui-yin played very well today."
Olympic champion Zhang Ning of China also lost, falling to Yao Jie of the Netherlands 21-15, 19-21, 21-19.
"The main reason I won was because I changed the style of play," Yao said. "Usually she plays quite quickly so I slowed the game down to get into the rallies. I haven't played her for 12 months but the last time we met I lost to her."
Pi Hongyan of France, seeded sixth and last year's finalist, beat Petya Nedelcheva of Bulgaria 21-16, 21-10 to make the second round.
Taiwanese players had mixed fortunes. In the women's singles Cheng Shao-chieh beat Pia Zebadiah Bernadet of Indonesia, 24-22, 21-10 and in the men's doubles Tsai Chia-hsin and Hu Chung-shien earned a straight sets win against Danes Jens Eriksen and Martin Lundgaard Hansen.
However, Anthony Clark and David Lindley of England beat Fang Chieh-min and Lee Sheng-mu 22-20, 19-21, 21-18.
In the women's doubles Chien Yu-chin and Cheng Wen-hsing downed Suzanne Rayappan and Jenny Wallwork of England but Yang Wei and Zhang Jiewen of China beat Chou Chia-chi and Yang Chia-tseng.
In an all-Taiwanese clash in the mixed doubles Chen Hung-ling and Chou Chia-hi beat Hsieh Yu-hsin and Chien Yu-zhin 21-19, 21-19.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
RSS