Hong Kong shuttler Angus Ng suffers early exit at World Championships, follows Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen out of the tournament
- The Hong Kong number one is beaten after three tough games by India’s Prannoy Kumar while world number one Axelsen loses to Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew
- Veteran women’s player Yip Pui-yin enjoys a happy return in first international match in more than two years
Hong Kong number one Angus Ng Ka-long crashed out of the World Championships in Huelva, Spain, as mixed doubles pair Yeung Ming-nok and Ng Tsz-yau reached the third round without raising a sweat after receiving two walkovers.
Ng, the eighth seed, lost in an exciting, 71-minute battle with India’s Prannoy Kumar, going down 13-21, 21-18, 21-19 in their men’s singles first-round encounter.
But the biggest upset of the day came in another first-round tie when world number one Viktor Axelsen, of Denmark, lost to Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew in three games. The Dane had won all four of their previous encounters.
Axelsen, also the reigning Olympic champion, gave credit to his opponent, while acknowledging that he had not been anywhere close to his best.
“I think he played as a winner today, he definitely deserved the victory, so I wish him all the best for the rest of the tournament,” said the Dane. “For me personally the first game was OK, but then it was something I’d rather forget, to be honest.
“I’ll take a few days and then watch it again to see if I can learn anything. I feel a bit burned out right now. Pretty much everything fell apart in the second and third. Loh stepped up and I stepped down.”
Lee Chuk-yiu, the Hong Kong number two and 13th seed, had an easy passage over Howard Shu, of the United States, needing less than half an hour to wipe out his rival 21-8, 21-14.
He will now take on Ade Resky Dwicahyo, of Azerbaijan, in a second-round match which the Hong Kong player would be expect to win.