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.
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