8.00 am: Here’s a look back at the results of late night matches (IST) on Wednesday
- Lakshya Sen wins an all-Indian battle against Sourabh Verma in straight games. Close-ish first game followed by a breeze in the second, 21-17 21-7 in 33 minutes. Led 10-0 at the start of the 2nd game. He sets up a mouth-watering second-round clash against third seed Anders Antonsen, who defeated world champion Loh Kean Yew in a high-quality opening-round match.
- Srikanth Kidambi overcame Kantaphon Wangcharoen in straight games, 21-18 21-14 in 34 minutes. Got close in the first game at 14-14, then Srikanth pulled away. Comfortable second game.
- Defeats for Parupalli Kashyap, Aakarshi Kashyap. Parupalli went down against Anthony Ginting 11-21, 18-21. Aakarshi seems to have pushed Michelle Li close in a 18-21, 18-21 defeat in 40 mins. The Indian was at 17-17 in the opening game and 17-18 in the 2nd, but closing out games seems to be an issue for the youngster.
- Defeats also for Ishaan-Tanisha, Venkat-Juhi in mixed doubles.
- Here are the 2nd round matches coming up later today on Thursday. Sindhu vs Takahashi, as we had mentioned in the pre-tournament article, is going to be tricky one. The pacy leftie shuttler has won the last two matches against Sindhu, their H2H is at 4-4. Antonsen’s reward for defeating world champion Loh is a match against world championship bronze medallist Lakshya. Srikanth vs Ginting is another cracking match. Satwik-Chirag need to find a way past world No 16 Lamsfuss and Seidel to set up a possible quarterfinal with Minions. For Gayatri/Treesa anything they can get out of the match against the Olympic champions will be a bonus in their learning curve. Saina faces a massive test against Akane Yamaguchi (H2H 2-9). Seems tough, but there is a chance of a Sindhu-Saina quarterfinal should they both win today.
11.13 pm: There are still quite a few Indian matches left for the day but we are closing the live blog for now. We will be updating the results in the morning. Lakshya Sen vs Sourabh Verma could prove to be an interesting one. Goodnight!
Antonsen vs Loh Kean Yew to follow Sindhu’s match... quite possibly the match of the day. It’s a repeat of the World Championships match that made Antonsen give one of the quotes of 2021.
Women’s singles, PV Sindhu vs Wang Zhi Yi 21-18, 20-12: Wang was erratic today and Sindhu was consistency personified. The Indian started well and kept the pressure on throughout the match. And when she does that she can trouble the very best. The second game proved to be a much easier one than many would have predicted.
Women’s singles, PV Sindhu vs Wang Zhi Yi 21-18, 14-6: Sindhu reeling off three points after coming back on court. This doesn’t look like something Wang can come back from now.
Women’s singles, PV Sindhu vs Wang Zhi Yi 21-18, 11-6: Sindhu goes into the interval with a more than healthy lead but Wang once again seems to have found some momentum. But the Chinese player has left herself a lot to do... especially against a top player like Sindhu.
Women’s singles, PV Sindhu vs Wang Zhi Yi 21-18, 9-2: Wang finally breaks Sindhu’s run of points and gets two points of her own.
Women’s singles, PV Sindhu vs Wang Zhi Yi 21-18, 8-0: Incredible defence from Sindhu and then she turned defence into offence. Wang unable to catch a break at this point.
Women’s singles, PV Sindhu vs Wang Zhi Yi 21-18, 5-0: Same as the first game. Sindhu has given herself a big cushion and Wang has left herself with a lot to do.
Women’s singles, PV Sindhu vs Wang Zhi Yi 21-18, 3-0: Sindhu once again jumping to a lead in the early stages of the game. Wang playing some high quality stuff but making errors too.
Women’s singles, PV Sindhu vs Wang Zhi Yi 21-18: Sindhu wins the first game with a kill at the net. The early lead she established really helped her down the stretch. Wang played much better and the second game will be some battle.
Women’s singles, PV Sindhu vs Wang Zhi Yi 20-17: Wang sends it long! Sindhu has three game points!
Women’s singles, PV Sindhu vs Wang Zhi Yi 19-17: Just two points in this now. Wang with a big smash puts even more pressure on Sindhu here.
Women’s singles, PV Sindhu vs Wang Zhi Yi 17-13: Sindhu reasserting her control on the game. She went passive for a bit but is now going at Wang. A thoroughly absorbing contest so far.
Women’s singles, PV Sindhu vs Wang Zhi Yi 14-10: Wang made it 9-11 but Sindhu has pulled away to make it a four-point game again. Wang controlling the play but Sindhu hanging on.
Women’s singles, PV Sindhu vs Wang Zhi Yi 11-7: Four-point advantage for Sindhu at the break. But it is much closer than the scoreline might suggest. Wang is really getting stuck into this.
Women’s singles, PV Sindhu vs Wang Zhi Yi 8-3: Some intense rallies already. The battle has been joined in every sense. But the early lead will provide a cushion for Sindhu.
Women’s singles, PV Sindhu vs Wang Zhi Yi 5-0: Still early days but this is the kind of start that instills confidence in a player.
Women’s singles, PV Sindhu vs Wang Zhi Yi 3-0: Sindhu has made a fine aggressive start. She is pushing her opponent and trying to make aggressive plays – which is a good thing.
Women’s singles, Saina Nehwal vs Beatriz Corrales 21-17, 21-19: Saina was trailing and in trouble in the second game but she somehow turned it around in an instant and finished off the match in straight game.
Time for PV Sindhu: Lane/Vendy win in straight games. They were stretched a bit in the second game. But that is done.
Women’s singles, Saina Nehwal vs Beatriz Corrales 21-17, 6-13: Corrales fighting back in the second game to take a seven-point lead. We may be heading to a decider here.
Women’s singles, Saina Nehwal vs Beatriz Corrales 21-17: Saina was never really in trouble in the first game. Always ahead and always with a decent enough points cushion.
Women’s singles, Saina Nehwal vs Beatriz Corrales 11-8: Saina has started well. She goes into the interval with a three-point lead.
Women’s singles, Saina Nehwal vs Beatriz Corrales 2-2: The match is on Court 5 and Saina Nehwal would love to find some rhythm in this one. She would also have an opportunity to see how her body holds up.
Men’s singles, Axelsen vs Sai Praneeth 22-20, 21-11: Axelsen just ran away with the second game and the match. After a close first game, Sai Praneeth couldn’t match Axelsen’s pace in the second. An easy win for the top seed. He got a good workout in the first game and then turned on the charm in the second.
Women’s doubles, Ponnappa/Reddy vs Iwanaga/Nakanishi 9-21, 13-21: It wasn’t much of a battle. The Japanese pair was far too good for the Indians.
Men’s singles, Axelsen 22-20, 11-4 Sai Praneeth: The world No 1 in complete control at the moment.
Men’s singles, Axelsen 22-20, 10-4 Sai Praneeth: One way traffic at the moment.
Men’s singles, Axelsen 22-20, 7-2 Sai Praneeth: Unfortunately, Sai is starting to look winded. And perhaps, unsurprisingly.
Men’s singles, Axelsen 22-20, 5-2 Sai Praneeth: Better rallies now after a dull start from Sai.
Men’s singles, Axelsen 22-20, 5-0 Sai Praneeth: If Sai stood any chance here, he had to take that first game. Real danger of VA now running away with this as errors galore from the Indian’s racket.
Men’s singles, Axelsen 22-20, 2-0 Sai Praneeth: After playing a brilliant point to make it 20-20, Sai made a service error. That’s really, just so him.
Men’s singles, Axelsen 22-20 Sai Praneeth: Game 1 , Viktor Axelsen! Sai Praneeth played some fantastic points, came up with shots that made one gasp, fought back well to make it 20-20... but it is the Dane who took the opening game. A whirlwind Sai Praneeth compilation if ever there was one, this.
Men’s singles, Axelsen 20-19 Sai Praneeth: Sai Praneeth takes a 19-18 lead but Axelsen punishes a short lift and makes it level again. Superb battle, but Sai then gives another kill shot for VA.
Women’s doubles: Ashwini Ponnappa and Sikki Reddy have dropped the opening game 9-21 against Iwanaga/Nakanishi from Japan.
Men’s singles, Axelsen 18-17 Sai Praneeth: SUEPRB RALLY! Sai Praneeth with some sensational defensive skills to stay in the point and induces an error from Axelsen at the end of a gruelling rally. Makes it 15-16. But in just a few seconds, Sai trails 15-18. A quick winner and then misjudgement from Axelsen. Back to one point!
Men’s singles, Axelsen 13-11 Sai Praneeth: A 35-shot rally and Sai converts defence into a winner brilliantly. Nice forehand crosscourt block... the lift lands in next point. And this is a 2-point game now!
Men’s singles, Axelsen 13-8 Sai Praneeth: Sai is making Axelsen work hard. That part is especially noteworthy. A fantastic rally after break sees the gap down to 8-11. And nearly a brilliant crosscourt winner, but goes wide. The commentators speak about Sai’s fitness being a hindrance and it’s hard not to agree.
Men’s singles, Axelsen 11-6 Sai Praneeth: Nearly a slip there at the net for Axelsen but he steadies himself even if he lost the point. But on an error from Sai, Axelsen takes a good lead into the interval.
Men’s singles, Axelsen 8-4 Sai Praneeth: This is actually a nice start from Sai against Axelsen but even if it’s not showing on the scoreboard. The Dane has had to be at his best to win these early exchanges.
Women’s doubles: Ashwini Ponnappa and Sikki Reddy are also in action now, taking on Iwanaga/Nakanishi from Japan. The Indians are ranked higher in this one (19 vs 25).
Men’s singles, Axelsen 4-1 Sai Praneeth: A superb 49-shot rally! Both players with good quality shot-making, but Axelsen closes the point with a nice downward rally.
Second session order of play on the main court:
Men’s singles: Sai Praneeth vs Axelsen next on court 1.
Women’s doubles: UPSET ALERT! Top seeds knocked out. Looks like the German Open final took the wind out of the world champions’ sails! Chen/Jia seemed to be struggling physically and this was always going to be a tricky test against Kim/Jeong.
Women’s doubles: Never really in this, Poorvisha and Meghana.
Men’s singles: Sameer Verma bows out. A lucky net chord in the end but not like that would have made a difference as Caljouw had match points galore.
Men’s singles: Not looking good for Sameer either, much more of the same. He trails 11-19.
Men’s doubles: Not to be for Krishna Prasad and Vishnuvardhan as well. Another close defeat in a doubles match for India today, this time against the world No 16 pair from Germany.
Men’s singles: Sameer trails 6-11 at the interval of the second game. The doubles match, meanwhile, is in a thrilling spot.
Men’s singles: Sameer trails 6-9 in the 2nd game, problems for him. He is making Caljouw work hard alright but the Dutchman’s impressive aspect has been his defence and that’s showing.
Women’s doubles: Promoted from reserve, Poorvisha and J Meghana are in action now but face a tough test against a Thai pair. The Indo-US pair of Srivedya-Ishika are also in action. Indians everywhere at the moment!
Men’s doubles: It’s neck and neck in the second game against the Indians and Germans. Krishna Prasad-Vishnuvardhan have made it 12-12, 13-13.
Men’s singles: Sameer Verma drops the opening game 18-21, in what was an up and down battle.
Men’s doubles: The world No 16 German pair have taken the first game.
7.24 pm: Couple of India matches underway. Sameer Verma takes on 2021 semifinalist Mark Caljouw (world No 25 vs 26). Krishna-Vishnu are up against Germans (world No 16) Lamsfuss and Seidel.
7.18 pm: One of the pairs expected to go deep in men’s doubles, Astrup/Rasmussen prevail in three games.
7.15 pm: Fourth seed Chou Tien Chen looked like he will play yet another three-game match in his career but wins in two. Women’s doubles next on Court 1, that will be followed by Axelsen vs Sai.
7.14 pm: “I always dreamed to be here and I’m happy to be here but I never thought it will happen under this situation”
Ukraine’s Maria Ulitina bowed out earlier after a difficult #AllEngland debut, but not before realising a dream. Read more here on BWF.
6.52 pm: The day so far for India: Two tough losses and two good wins. Sai Praneeth vs Viktor Axelsen will be on Court 1 next. On Court 2, we will see Sameer Verma take on Mark Caljouw.
6.49 pm: A bit of a topsy-turvy second game but Satwik/Chirag do enough to come out on top. They beat the Scottish pair 21-17, 21-19 in 38 mins.
6.32 pm: Meanwhile, on Court 4, Satwik/Chirag have taken the first game 21-17 against Dunn/Hall and are cruising in the second game too.
6.16 pm: Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly have done it! A remarkable turnaround. It looked like the Aimsaard sisters would win this in straight games but the Indian pair did not give up – overturned a huge lead in the second game and then found a way to win in the third. Spectacular fight!
6.10 pm: On Court 4, Satwiksairaj/Shetty are taking on Dunn/Hall of Scotland. The match has just started.
6.02 pm: Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly are giving this their all. 6-6 in the third against Aimsaard sisters. Neither team can afford to blink here.
5.56 pm: Game of streaks at the moment... one side takes the lead, other side goes ahead, and then another run of points... Gayatri/Treesa close it down to finally takes it 22-20 and force a decider. Just look at the graph below... the Indian pair was initially up and then trailed by a big margin!
5.55 pm: From 2-8 down to 18-12, the Aimsaard sisters from Thailand just their foot down on the pedal. They turned it on and Treesa/Gayatri couldn’t keep up.
5.43 pm: Treesa/Gayatri go into the interval of a second game with a one-point lead. But they had a larger lead in the early going. The momentum, in a sense, is with the Thai pair.
5:31 pm: Jolly/Gayatri lose the first game against Aimsaard sisters from Thailand, the India Open champions. The first half was close but then the Thai pair pulled away.
5.11 pm: On Court 5, Treesa Jolly/Gayatri Gopichand are taking on Benyapa Aimsaard/Nuntakarn Aimsaard.
5.09 pm: The Daddies win but Dhruv/Kapila didn’t make it easy for them. It seems like it was pretty straightforward but the Indian pair came back well in the third game. Still, it wasn’t enough.
5.07 pm: Heartbreak for Prannoy. He put up a great fight but Vitidsarn takes the second game and the match. Just look at the graph below. It tells you how well Prannoy fought back in the second half. But the Indian eventually lost 22-24.
5.04 pm: No stream available but Prannoy putting on a big fight. 22-22!!
4.59 pm: Prannoy fighting well in the other match against Vitidsarn. He has levelled things up at 18-18 in the second game after being down by quite a fair margin.
4.58 pm: The Daddies are in control in this one now. They are dominating the flat rallies and that is putting a lot of pressure on Arjun/Kapila.
4.47 pm: The Daddies have come to the party and dominated Arjun/Kapila in the second game. How quickly the game changed in a couple of minutes... more errors from the Indians and some lovely touches from Setiawan. Normal service resumed?
4.45 pm: Prannoy started the second game well too and was ahead for most part but it is Vitidsarn who goes into the break leading 11-9.
4.39 pm: Second seeds Ahsan/Setiawan have found their rhythm after dropping the first game against Arjun/Kapila. They lead 11-4 at the break in the second game.
4.32 pm: Meanwhile, some good news from Court 1. Arjun/Kapila have taken the first game against the second seeds Ahsan/Setiawan in just 14 minutes.
4.31 pm: The dreaded fade was at it again for Prannoy. He loses the first game 15-21. It was 11-11 at one point but the Thai youngster just pulled away after that.
4.13 pm: H S Prannoy and Kunlavut Vitidsarn are locked 11-11 in the first game. The Indian has made a fine start but he faded in the second half of the game against Lakshya Sen recently and he will look to avoid that.
4.13 pm: On Court 5, H S Prannoy is taking on German Open champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn.
4.11 pm: For the second match on Court 1, we have Dhruv Kapila and M R Arjun taking on the legends Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan in the men’s doubles category.
4.08 pm: And a marathon comes to an end. The experienced Japanese pair of Fukushima/Hirota go down in 88 minutes to China’s Zhang/Zheng 21-19, 11-21, 21-11.
3.59 pm: Tai Tzu Ying also gets through without a hitch. She takes just 30 minutes to go past Lianne Tan 21-12, 21-14. All the big guns are getting warmed up well.
3.49 pm: China’s He Bing Jiao, who is one of the form players, cruises to a straight games win in just 19 minutes. She beat Maria Ulitina 21-8, 21-6.
3.34 pm: The inaugural edition of the All England Open in 1899 consisted of only doubles events; singles were introduced a year later.
3.27 pm: Meanwhile, Tai Tzu Ying is on Court 5. She will begin her match against Lianne Tan in a few minutes.
3.23 pm: Nozomi Okuhara, the fifth seed, has started her campaign with a win over Line Christophersen. The Japanese star won 21-15, 21-16 in 36 minutes.
3.21 pm: In India, you can watch live action on Voot Select (Court 1), BWF Youtube (Court 2 and 3).
All eyes will be on in-form shuttler Lakshya Sen, double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu, doubles pair Satwikisairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty and World Championships silver medallist Kidambi Srikanth as they look to break India’s 21-year title drought at the All England Championships, which begins on Wednesday.
Sindhu will be in action on Day 1 of the tournament. She will take on the tricky Zhi Yi Wang.
Sai Praneeth, who has struggled with form and injuries, will take on top seed Viktor Axelsen. Parupalli Kashyap will run into fifth seed Anthony Ginting.
An interesting all-India match will see Sen take on Sourabh Verma later in the day.
Here’s a look at India’s schedule for the day: