Badminton: Olympic champion Li falls at first hurdle at All England
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Buy SPH photosBIRMINGHAM (AFP) - Li Xuerui, the Olympic and the defending All-England champion, suffered a stunning defeat on Wednesday when she lost in the first round of the All-England Open.
Li, widely regarded as the sport's outstanding woman player after her triumph at the London Games seven months ago, went down 21-18, 21-18 to Bae Yeon Ju, the world No. 13 from South Korea.
The Chinese player did not blame either the wind drift or having to face such a high quality opponent in the first round for her defeat.
"It was personal performance issues, too many mistakes, nothing else," she said.
