All England Open Badminton: Defending champion Li Shifeng eliminated in the first round. Loktej Sports News
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London, March 13 (Hindustan Reporter) Li Shifeng of China had to face defeat in the first round of the All England Open Badminton Championship. Defending champion Shifeng was defeated by Frenchman Toma Junior Popov in straight sets on Tuesday. The 24-year-old Li first won the title in Birmingham last March and won gold at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, defeating teammate Shi Yuqi in both finals.
However, third seed Li made too many mistakes on Tuesday and Popov defeated him 21-17 and 21-13. There have been three matches between Lee and Popov so far and Popov has won all three times. Earlier, Popov’s younger brother Christo Popov defeated Lee Cheuk Yiu of Hong Kong, China 22-20, 17-21 and 21-16 to enter the last 16.
In men’s singles, top seed Viktor Axelsen easily entered the second round after defeating Indian player Kidambi Srikanth 21-9, 21-9 in the opening round. In mixed doubles, China’s defending champions Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong won 21-6, 21-11 over Americans Vinson Chiu and Jenny Guy in 25 minutes.
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