The first day of the YONEX All England Championships has brought a fair amount of shocks both throughout the day so far.
This afternoon saw Pusarla V. Sindhu and Anders Antonsen exit the tournament, as well as the number one seeds in the Men’s Doubles, Marcus Gideon/Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo.
Also going out in the first round was the former World Champion, Lin Dan who lost to his Japanese opponent Kanta Tsuneyama in three games.
World number one’s dumped out
One of the shocks of the day so far saw Liu Cheng/Zhnag Nan beat Marcus Gideon/Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo in a three game thriller (21-19, 20-22, 21-17).
The Indonesian pair went one game down which then gave their Chinese opponents the opportunity to knock them out and they did so with confidence.
Despite Gideon/Sukamuljo coming back into the contest, by winning the second game 22=20, they were not able to prevent an upset and were soundly beaten in the third, 21-17.
- We are happy to beat the two time, All England champions, so we feel quite good, to come out on top, Zhang Nan told the media after the match.
- We have been studying their tactics for a long period of time so I think that is the reason why we beat them today, he added.
Lin Dan taught a lesson
Another shock today saw Lin Dan beaten by Japanese 22-year old Kanta Tsuneyama in three games (19-21,21-14,21-7).
The former holder of the tournament actually took the first game in reasonably comfortable style but what was to come was for the underdog.
Tsuneyama beat Dan in the second 21-14 to take it to the all important third game where he thrashed the former World Champion to a 21-7 defeat.
Kanta Tsuneyama speaking after the match was in a jubilant mood after picking up a scalp of the tournament.
The Japanese 22-year old was also pleased by the atmosphere inside the arena of the famous and the oldest badminton tournament.
- Today, I was able to perform to my best and it made me confident. I was able to continue running until my opponent give up and I used my ability to overcome him.
- The tournament is the greatest grade, so I want to win as much as possible. The atmosphere at this tournament is unique, so I want to enjoy it as much as I can.
When asked the question about winning the tournament after picking up such a result, Tsuneyama replied with a statement to his competitors.
- Yes, I am very confident!