All England Open 2022, Day 2 Highlights: Kidambi Srikanth loses to Anthony Ginting, Lakshya Sen storms into Q-F’s

Anthony Ginting is through to his first-ever quarter-final in All England. He wins 21-9, 18-21, 19-21. And what a brilliant comeback from behind that was.

From 10-15 down, Srikanth made it 14-15 before sending the shuttle wide. The run of points keeps him in the game.

Greysia Polii/Apriyani Rahayu vs T. Jolly/G. Gopichand Pullela (India)
21-18 14-19 retired

Apriyani rahayu cedera?, semoga cepat pulih ???
comeback stronger Apri we luv you ???#AllEngland2022 pic.twitter.com/xfcNSYWift

— Feng Shui (@rifaialhabsyi) March 17, 2022

What a fightback from Anthony Ginting as he pushes Kidambi Srikanth to the limit and takes this game into the decider. This is indeed now a thriller with amazing rallies from both men. But wait a min! There is a bit of confusion in the middle as Srikanth calls on umpires to check a point. Yes, a replay on the point with Ginting on serve. However, a net error from Srikanth helps the Indonesian to take the match to the decider.

A fine smash from Srikanth gives him a one-point lead at the break. Elsewhere, Gayatri and Treesa are through to the next round. Apriyani Rahayu retired hurt after her knee caved in against Treesa-Gayatri. They win 18-21, 19-14.

Kidambi Srikanth outplays Anthony Ginting to take the first game 21-9 ! How good was he and he should comfortably sail through to the next round. 

Srikanth begins well and continues his good work to take a lead of 11-4 at the break. continuing his dominance, Srikanth storms to a lead of 17-8.

Former World No. 1 and World Championships silver medallist Kidambi Srikanth will be facing World No. 5 Anthony Ginting! Both the athletes are looking for a spot in the quarters.

Satwik/Chirag registers a thumping win by a scoreline of 21-7, 21-7. Meanwhile, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand are playing their game against Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu.

Sayaka Takahashi records 3 consecutive victories over PV Sindhu. The latest one comes in the round of 16 at All England 2022. The owner of 4 BWF World Tour titles from Japan has won 21-19 16-21 21-17 over the top 6 from India. Sayaka is now leading in head-to-head meetings by a margin of 5-4 over Sindhu.

Sindhu wins a fine rally and Takahashi collapses in exhaustion. Both the athletes are pushing each other to the brink. Score: 16-14 in favour of Takahashi 

The lead gets larger for Takahashi as Sindhu commits more errors. At one stage the Indian trailed by 15-10 but then cuts the lead down to three points. 16-13 in favour of the Japanese

Sindhu had the lead at 8-6 and then surrendered it as the Takahashi got four straight points. All square at 10-10.

A fantastic down-the-line smash from Sindhu to bag a point. This game is becoming an intriguing contest! 

PV Sindhu ensures that we are going into a decider. Brilliant play for Sindhu early in the game but the second half was a fierce contest.

Sindhu leads 11-4 and is definitely heading to claim this game in her favour. 

Takahashi converts her third game point and Sindhu is once again under pressure from the left-hander and the Japanese player wins it 21-19.

PV Sindhu commits an error on the backcourt and the lead is with the Japanese in the interval. Takahashi 11-9 Sindhu

Brisk at the beginning from PV Sindhu level at 4-4. After trailing at 6-7, she levels at 7-7. Aggressive start from the Indian.

Next Up is India's PV Sindhu vs Japan's Sayaka Takahashi. HERE WE GO!

Rising star Lakshya Sen ?? continues his rock-solid run in Birmingham!

Follow live action: https://t.co/TjoFnU4PnB@HSBC_Sport#BWFWorldTour #AllEngland2022 pic.twitter.com/PJGp1DkfLM

— BWF (@bwfmedia) March 17, 2022

Job done! Victory for Lakshya Sen and the scoreline reads 21-16, 21-18! Excellent win for Lakshya Sen against third-seeded Anders Antonsen and he is through to the quarterfinals of the All England Open.

YONEX All England Open Badminton Championships 2022
MS - Round of 16
21 21 ??Lakshya SEN?
16 18 ??Anders ANTONSEN

? in 55 minutes
https://t.co/TcigbqDAYU

— BWFScore (@BWFScore) March 17, 2022

Lakshya Sen having the better of longer exchanges in drawn-out rallies as an intense battle continues. And the Indian reaps his reward and takes a 19-16 lead in the 2nd game. 

Antonsen's persistence in playing at the net getting him some handy points now. 5 in a row for the score to read: 11-11

Down the lines, hit deep to Antonsen's backhand doing the damage. 8-4 to Sen | Meanwhile, there is a break in play as there was some blood spilled on the court. Sen gets treatment on his finger. As the game resumes again, Sen takes three more points, concedes three and now leads 11-7

Monster last rally as Sen takes the opener 21-16. Antonsen hugely fazed here with calls

Sen Denmark vs Sen India ???#AllEngland2022 pic.twitter.com/k32TolEJI3

— yay (@yayyepow) March 17, 2022

The fighter that Nehwal is, she fought. But goes down 21-14, 17-21, 21-17 to Yamaguchi.

Saina Nehwal isn't letting this one pass. It's getting really close now.

Lakshya Sen and Antonsen begin on an attacking note with a quick rally interspersed with some fine net play. Sen takes an early lead.

After Nehwal takes Yamaguchi, seeded second, to three games in round two, its been all Yamaguchi in the game three. Yamaguchi literally shakes herself out of the stupor, leads 11-3 in decider

A late defiant surge from Nehwal in second helps her level at 1-1 set all.

That was some good play from Saina Nehwal and she drew level at 9-9 after trailing. However, Yamaguchi makes is 11-9 in her favour. She holds a two-point advantage.

Yamaguchi takes the first game comfortably and already she seems to be in control of the following game. Birthday girl, Saina Nehwal needs to change the course of the game quickly!

Up Next, India's Saina Nehwal takes on world champion Akane Yamaguchi. The Japnese hold the edge in head-to-head tussles with a lead of 9-2.

A brilliant first round win for @NSaina, who is loving being back at the YONEX All England ? pic.twitter.com/dH6RyVkrO0

— ? Yonex All England Badminton Championships ? (@YonexAllEngland) March 16, 2022

????? ? ??

? @VootSelect, @MTVIndia & @Vh1India#AllEngland2022#IndiaontheRise#Badminton pic.twitter.com/MzAx4sdKWB

— BAI Media (@BAI_Media) March 17, 2022

YONEX All England Open Badminton Championships 2022
WD - Round of 16
??Pearly TAN?
18 21 21 ??Muralitharan THINAAH?
21 19 16 ??Rin IWANAGA
??Kie NAKANISHI

? in 74 minutes
https://t.co/9IaW8vXWkD

— BWFScore (@BWFScore) March 17, 2022

And the Minions are about to make a comeback. Japanese retaliate from 12-18 down to 15-18 but the Indonesians are dominating at this point in time.

Minions are a set down against Japanese Akira Koga-Taichi Sato.

MINIONS ON COURT!!!

Sawer : https://t.co/jSgOgIhbSl#AllEngland2022 https://t.co/6b1h23iYpG

— Follow IG @Badminton.live1 (@BadmintonLive1) March 17, 2022

They are 2-2 in career face-offs. But history is irrelevant when you consider Srikanth's current drive to do well and hia sheer pedigree. Yet Ginting is considered the fastest mover on the circuit currently, or a shade slower than Loh Kean Yew. And it promises to be an exciting match. 

Srikanth needs a big title for his confidence, and there is absolutely no reason why he can't be the next one after Pullela Gopichand from 21 years ago. Noone wins the All England on an easy draw, and if reputations need to be rattled, Round 2 is a good time to start. Srikanth was sublime vs Kantaphon Wangchoaren late Wednesday.

In the first and only final they contested, Saina Nehwal pipped Akane Yamaguchi In a frenetic 22-20 climax at the 2014 China Open. Since then, Yamaguchi enjoys a 9-2 head to head against the Indian, including dishing out 3 first round and 3 second round exits. 

Playing at the All England on her birthday, Nehwal might want to bring all her experience into trying to scuttle the reigning World Champion. A potential quarterfinal against PV Sindhu could be a wicked birthday gift to self, besides bragging rights to defeating the Japanese World Champion. Wracked by injuries, though looking patched up this last week, Nehwal is a retirement away from being seen at the All England, where she made finals in 2015 - India's best performance in 20 years. 

In 2020 she went down to Yamaguchi in straight sets, and last year, wobbled out clutching her hips in visible pain. It's not a title Saina Nehwal, now ranked 25, could nail down, but as India's original face of shuttle resurgence, Nehwal can gift herself a nice fight against the 5'1" yo-yo ball of a champion, presently No 2 in the world.

Sindhu starts a firm favourite against the Japanese southpaw, never mind the 4-4 head to head, and recent history, where Takahashi has won three-setters in their last two encounters. Takahashi has stayed in the 15-to-13 ranking range in the last one year, while Sindhu is steady at No 7. A blitzing Sindhu can ram through ofcourse taking into account the leftie angles and the general Japanese solemn duty to frustrate opponents by running endlessly. But Takahashi will be a good test of Sindhu's speed skills to check if she can hit through on a slow court, against a capable retriever. Expect a Sindhu morphed into playing the waiting game reading Takahashi early, before she goes rampaging. Downing Supanida Katethong in Round 1 will have taken something out of the 30-year-old at any rate.

The tall Germans, ranked 16, are a staple of the European circuit. While their face-offs with the Danish mavericks Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen make for great entertainment for the neutral, Indians will fancy a good, busy, quick workout against them in their first-ever meeting. That's another 0-0 history going into Round 2. The Indians didn't play at Mülheim, and chose to stay back for some additional training, and did the bare minimum to get off the rust in their 21-17, 21-19 win against Dunn-Hall in Round 1. But the India Open champions are looking for that one big result that can help them erase memories of the Olympics where despite beating the eventual champions, they went out in the pool stage. At the All England, that opportunity can present itself if they make the quarters against the world-class and never-beaten Minions. But the Germans are up against them, first. A World No 8 ranking for Satwik-Chirag necessitates a quarters appearance to take a shy at the Minions. That's still 24 hours away. If they beat the Germans.

One of the first things Anders Antonsen learnt about growing up was to pick after himself – plates, unwashed laundry, shoes, the towel he used to once casually fling aside. The A of adulthood came before the B of badminton and the C of championships.

Day 2 starts with Lakshya Sen looking to dislodge World No 3 Anders Antonsen. The good Dane (as against Great one, Viktor Axelsen), is the bridge generation at age 24, and has 3 Tour titles to boast of, besides a silver and bronze from World Championships. Despite his consistency and some big ticket contests, he's not quite spoken in the same breath as Momota, Axelsen, Lee Zii Jia or Chou Tien Chen.

Sen vs Antonsen is 0:0 in head to head, and the only time their paths crossed was on the way to the World Championships podium at Huelva 2021 where both won bronze. 

Antonsen is fresh off warding off World Champion Loh Kean Yew and that ridiculous low reflex return from Loh everyone's talking about. The quirky Dane with the headbangers locks, could absorb those ridiculous returns, let Loh walk away with applause and hogging highlight clips, but get the job of winning done.

Sen evicted Sourabh Verma in quick straight sets and stayed fresh for the big Round 2 match at hand. After the German Open where he packed off Axelsen (who is still figuring out what happened), Sen will look to best the Good Dane.

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the All England Open. It is the second round and India is being represented in all the categories. Stay tuned for live updates of the day right here.

Day Two, here we go ?

— ? Yonex All England Badminton Championships ? (@YonexAllEngland) March 17, 2022

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