Chen, Marin crash out of Singapore Open

SINGAPORE, April 15

World No. 1 Chen Long crashed out of the Singapore Open badminton quarterfinals on Friday when he was stunned in straight games by Hong Kong’s Angus Ng.

The unseeded Ng dispatched Chen in 39 minutes, dazzling the crowd at Singapore’s Indoor Stadium with a series of cleverly disguised drop shots to take the first game 21-14. Despite trailing early in the second set, Ng clawed his way back to level at 14-14, before pulling ahead to seal the win at 21-18.

“It’s a pity to have lost, especially since I was leading 14-7 in the second game,” said Chen, 27, who will attempt to win his first Olympics title in August. “To have thrown away 10 points, I feel that perhaps I was thinking about winning the second game and wasn’t playing as rigorously as I should.”

The women’s singles also saw the world’s top player being booted out at the quarterfinal stage. World No. 1 Carolina Marin was beaten 13-21, 21-18, 21-18 by Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi, the world No. 11. Trailing 12-17 in the final game, Marin mounted a strong comeback to score six straight points, but fell in the end to a fast-attacking and fearless Yamaguchi. — Agencies