All England Badminton Championships began in Birmingham yesterday. In the opening round of Men’s Singles, Lakshya Sen defeated world No. 1 and defending champion Shi Yuqi of China 23-21, 19-21, and 21-17 yesterday evening. Sen now advances to the Round of 16, where he will meet Ng Ka Long Angus of Hong Kong, China.
In the women’s draw, reigning Olympic champion Republic of Korea’s An Seyoung’s quest for back-to-back All England crowns got off to a winning start after she defeated Neslihan Arin of Türkiye.
India’s top mixed doubles pair of Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila also progressed to the second round, overpowering Malaysians Hoo Pang Ron and Cheng Su Yin, registering a 21-17, 21-19 win. Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu will unfortunately miss out on the action in the tournament and has returned home after being stranded at Dubai airport due to the prevailing geopolitical tensions in West Asia.
