Saina loses to Tai Tzu, crashes out of All England
BIRMINGHAM: Saina Nehwal bowed out of the All England Championships in the opening round after losing to top seed Tai Tzu-ying of Chinese Taipei in Birmingham on Wednesday. Tzu-ying prevailed 21-14, 21-18 to sail through to the next round. The shuttler fell behind early on and never managed to make a comeback in the opening game. Saina, however, made a bright start in the second game and held a slender lead until Tzu-ying moved up a few gears towards the end and overtook her Indian opponent to take the game 21-18.
LIN, LEE CHONG WEI EXPECT 40TH FACE-OFF
Badminton greats Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei look likely to contest a 40th instalment of their rivalry at the All England Championships.
The apparently ageless players have been drawn to meet in the quarterfinals of the world’s oldest badminton tournament, with 35-year-old Chong Wei returning as titleholder in what may be his last All England, and Lin, a mere 34, still capable of moments of genius which have made him the most celebrated player of all time.
Chong Wei has also become the top seed following the withdrawal of Viktor Axelsen, the world champion from Denmark, who had an operation on an ankle he injured last month at the Indonesian Masters.
Although Lin is seeded only sixth, he has won 27 of his memorable encounters with Chong Wei, and holds six All England men’s singles titles to Chong Wei’s four.
A seventh would put Lin close to the all-time record of eight won by Indonesia’s Rudy Hartono in the 1960s-70s, when the tournament was the unofficial world championship. The form of the brilliantly versatile left-hander from China may be more variable these days but, when fully prepared, Lin is capable of challenging for major titles, as shown by his run to the world championships final in Glasgow in August.