BIRMINGHAM, England: Defending champion Chen Long was ousted in the second round of the badminton All England Championships by Chinese teammate Xue Song 21-19, 21-17 yesterday.
For the second straight day, the last singles in the arena produced an eye-opener. Second-ranked Lee Chong Wei, the three-time champ, lost in straight sets late Wednesday, followed by top-ranked Chen, who succumbed to a teammate familiar with his style.
Xue, who lost their only previous meeting on tour in the first round here last year, controlled the early stages, letting Chen lead only briefly before closing the first game on his first game point.
Chen dictated more in the second, but from 13-11 up the world champion had to rally to tie Xue on 17. Xue won the last four points and, at 30, was the lowest ranked player in the quarterfinals.
The result meant Chen hasn't won his last four tournaments.
Second Round Men
Lin Dan (5), China, def. Sho Sasaki, Japan, 20-22, 21-6, 21-8.
Tian Houwei (8), China, def. Sameer Verma, India, 10-21, 21-12, 21-19.
Jan O Jorgensen (3), Denmark, def. Angus Ng Ka Long, Hong Kong, 21-13, 21-16.
Kento Momota (4), Japan, def. Kidambi Srikanth, India, 21-10, 21-13.
Marc Zwiebler, Germany, def. Tommy Sugiarto, Malaysia, 21-14, 21-16.
Viktor Axelsen (6), Denmark, def. Son Wan Ho, South Korea, 21-19, 22-24, 21-12.
Hans-Kristian Vittinghus, Denmark, def. B. Sai Praneeth, India, 12-21, 21-11, 21-16.
Xue Song, China, def. Chen Long (1), China, 21-19, 21-17.
Women
Ratchanok Intanon (6), Thailand, def. Akane Yamaguchi, Japan, 21-9, 21-13.
Saina Nehwal (2), India, def. Busanan Ongbumrungphan, Thailand, 21-16, 21-9.
Li Xuerui (3), China, def. Porntip Buranaprasertsuk, Thailand, 27-25, 21-13.
Wang Shixian (7), China, def. Beiwen Zhang, United States, 21-16, 21-11.
Carolina Marin (1), Spain, def. Maria Febe Kusumastuti, Indonesia, 21-17, 21-7.
Tai Tzu-ying, Taiwan, def. Sung Ji-hyun (5), South Korea, 21-13, 23-21.
Wang Yihan (4), China, def. He Bingjiao, China, 21-18, 23-21.
Nozomi Okuhara (8), Japan, def. Lindaweni Fanetri, Indonesia, 21-11, 21-10.
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