All England Open: Kidambi Srikanth crashes out of tournament after losing to Chen Long

BRIMINGHAM, UK- Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth on Wednesday crashed out of the All England Open after losing the first round clash against Chen Long at Arena Birmingham here.

World number five Chinese shuttler Long outclassed Srikanth in two straight games 21-15, 21-16 that lasted for about 43 minutes. This is Srikanth’s third first-round defeat in four tournaments in 2020.

Earlier in the day, ace shuttler PV Sindhu progressed to the second round of the competition. She defeated American shuttler Beiwen Zhang in straight games 21-14, 21-17 in the first round. The match lasted for about 42 minutes.

Later in the day, Saina Nehwal, Sai Praneeth, Parupalli Kashyap, Lakshya Sen, and women’s doubles pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy will play their respective first-round matches.