World No. 1 Shi Yuqi beaten by Lakshya Sen in opening round

Shi Yuqi’s hopes of defending his men’s singles All England Open Badminton title were dashed in the opening round, after the People’s Republic of China star was bested 23-21, 19-21, 21-17 by India’s Lakshya Sen on Tuesday (3 March).
After dropping the opening game in a tie-break, the world No. 1 rallied back in the second to level the dramatic Round-of-32 clash at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham.
But it would be Sen that would emerge out of the decider as the winner.
Up 11-9 at the break, the Paris 2024 men’s singles semi-finalist edged ahead 13-11 and remained composed to close out the one-hour-and-18-minute epic for his second-ever victory over the Chinese shuttler.
Sen now advances to the Round of 16, where he will meet Ng Ka Long Angus of Hong Kong, China.
In the women’s draw, reigning Olympic champion An Seyoung’s quest for back-to-back All England crowns got off to a winning start after she defeated Neslihan Arin of Türkiye.
The 24-year-old No. 1 seed needed just 27 minutes to secure her place in the Round of 16, pulling away early from her opponent to notch a 21-8, 21-6 victory.
An, who has won her past seven consecutive tournaments in the build-up to Birmingham, is bidding to become the first Korean ever to win consecutive All England titles, following her victory over Wang Zhiyi in last year’s final.
She will now face Lin Hsiang-Ti of Chinese Taipei for a spot in the quarter-finals.
Lin set up the meeting with the world No. 1 after defeating the Republic of Korea’s Sim Yujin 21-16, 21-13.