ALL ENGLAND 2012 R32 – Gade shown the exit

Peter Gade was beaten at 2:30 in the morning in front of a handful of spectators for his last All England. The Dane, who was well in control at the beginning of the match, missed stamina towards the end and let local hero Rajiv Ouseph take a 10-point lead in the third game which proved too big to catch up in spite of a good effort. This is the first time that Ouseph has beaten the 1999 All England champion.

By Raphael Sachetat, live from Birmingham. Photos: Badmintonphoto (live)

“I’m thrilled that I was able to come out on top today. I had prepared well even if I had had a back injury last week, but I managed to stay on top of my game. I knew he could come back at the end but fortunately I feel really happy I was able to pull it through.  He’s the best European player and to beat him means a lot. Now, I need to try to catch up on my sleep,” said Ouseph.

The Dane was, of course, very disappointed but was expecting the worst, after he had been struggling with a right foot injury.

“I was only given the green light to come here last week, so I knew this could happen,” said Gade.  “Rajiv is a very good player and he played well in the second and the third while I couldn’t keep my rhythm going. I’m very disappointed that my last All England has to finish like this, at 2:30AM, but I did what I could today on court.”

This loss will certainly be good news for Chen Jin, who won his first round match and who will be able to get some crucial points from this Super Series Premier in order to come in front of Gade before the deadline of the Olympic qualifying period.

It wasn’t all good news however for China, as an even later match saw seeded Wang Xin shown the exit by Korea’s Sung Ji Hyun in straight games. At 3AM, Ratchanok Intanon and Yip Pui Yin of Hong Kong were still on court, making it a record-setting late ending for a Super Series event since the beggining of the new circuit back in 2007.

For complete results from Day 2 of the Yonex All England Superseries Premier, CLICK HERE

Click here for live streamed coverage of the All England from the BWF’s Youtube channel

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