Glasgow: Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi suffered a shock exit from the World Badminton Championships in Glasgow as Chinese youngster Chen Yufei defeated the top seed in the third round yesterday.
The 19-year-old world junior champion, seeded ninth, claimed the best win of her career 21-18, 21-19 in 52 minutes.
“I am so excited,” she said. “This was one of my big goals this year, to beat Akane.”
Yamaguchi admitted she had been well below her best, saying: “I am very sad. I made too many mistakes.”
South Korea’s Son Wan Ho, the top seed in the men’s singles, needed three games before finally knocking out Thailand’s Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk 21-14, 17-21, 21-13 in 62 minutes. On the other hand, India’s P.V. Sindhu advanced to the quarter-finals after rallying to beat Hong Kong’s Cheung Ngan Yi 19-21, 23-21, 21-16 in 86 minutes.
After an average start in both the games, Sindhu made sure that the third game won’t last for long. Cheung was beaten at her tramlines as Sindhu’s attacking prowess was enough to take her through.
Mixed luck
It was mixed luck for India in the men’s section. Kidambi Srikanth reached the men’s singles quarter-finals, while the mixed doubles pair of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and N. Sikki Reddy lost in the pre-quarter-finals.
Pranaav and Sikki, the 15th seeds, battled hard as they came close to upsetting the Indonesian seventh seeds Praveen Jordan and Debby Susanto but the latter pair prevailed 20-22, 21-18, 21-18.
Lin Dan stepped up a gear just in time to avoid an upset against Emil Holst of Denmark in the second round on Wednesday.
A day after his old rival Lee Chong Wei was beaten, Lin broke a 16-16 tie in the third game to prevail 19-21, 21-8, 21-16 in 81 minutes.
Also through were Chen Long, the defending two-time champion, Son Wan Ho of South Korea, the No. 1-ranked man, and Kidambi Srikanth, the dangerous Indian on a 12-match winning streak.
— Agencies
