Shi Yuqi of China competes in the men's singles first-round match at the French Open in Paris, France, October 26, 2022. /CFP
Chinese badminton player Shi Yuqi suffered a first-round defeat to Sitthikom Thammasin of Thailand 21-16, 21-14 in Paris on Wednesday, just three days after taking the titles at the Denmark Open last weekend.
Shi, 26, had a good start with a lead of 8-5 in the first set, but lost seven points in a row afterwards. Due to physical fatigue, the Chinese shuttler did not pose much pressure to the world No. 36 in the second set and ended his French Open journey early.
Shi is not the only frustrated man in the category as world No. 2 Malaysian Lee Zii Jia, also the runner-up at the Denmark Open, crashed out in the first round as well after losing to Indonesia's Shesar Hiren 21-19, 21-18.
Zheng Siwei (L) and Huang Yaqiong of China compete in the mixed doubles first-round match at the French Open in Paris, France, October 26, 2022. /CFP
Chinese men have a dim prospect now to win the title at the Super 750 event, as another Chinese player Zhao Junpeng lost to Angus Ng Ka Long from Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 24-22, 21-18 earlier.
At the same time, Lu Guangzu and Li Shifeng will meet in the first-round Chinese derby, which means that only one Chinese at most can enter the last 16.
In the women's singles event, Chinese world champion He Bingjiao and Olympic champion Chen Yufei cruised past their rivals, respectively.
Mixed doubles Zheng Siwei/Huang Yaqiong, Feng Yanzhe/Huang Dongping, men's doubles Liang Weikeng/Wang Chang, and world's top women's doubles pair Chen Qingchen/Jia Yifan all moved to the next round.