CHINA’S Lin Dan and Chen Long, who had won a total of eight titles between them, both suffered shock first-round defeats at the All England Open Badminton Championships on Wednesday.

The 35-year-old Lin, also a two-time Olympic champion in Athens and Beijing, lost to Japan’s 22-year-old Kana Tsuneyama 21-19, 14-21, 7-21, while second seed Chen, the reigning Olympic gold medalist, wasted a 14-9 lead in the second set before crashing out 21-15, 21-17.

Lin, who has won the All England Open title six times, and Chen, the 2013 and 2015 winner, had never been sent packing in the first round.

Nicknamed “Super Dan” by his fans, Lin’s previous earliest exit in his 15 appearances came in 2003 when he was stopped in the round of 16. Chen, who competed eight times, has been eliminated twice in the second round.

“I find it more and more difficult to focus my concentration late in the first round. After my concentration is interrupted, it will be difficult to fight back,” said the two-time Olympic champion who is bidding to win a place in next year’s Tokyo Olympics.

“Every player is fighting very hard to win more points because of the coming Olympics. I will play more tournaments for more ranking points,” Lin added.

Defending champion Shi Yuqi, who upset Lin in last year’s final, beat Denmark’s Anders Antonsen 21-17, 21-16 in 45 minutes to reach the second round.

“I hope to win the championship again this year,” Shi said. “There is certainly some pressure as the defending champion but I will turn the pressure into motivating strength.”(Xinhua)