Sen ousts defending champion Christie to move into All England quarters

India's unseeded Lakshya Sen stunned Jonatan Christie 21-13 21-10 to knock out the reigning men's champion at the All England Open on Thursday and progress to the quarter-finals in a lopsided contest that was wrapped up in just 36 minutes.

Christie had a superior 4-2 head-to-head record against Sen coming into the contest but this time he was no match for the fleet-footed Indian, who shifted gears when they were tied at 12-12 in the opening game and raced away.

Sen also exacted revenge having fallen to Christie at the semi-final stage last year, sealing victory when the Indonesian made an error at the net on match point.

Top seed Shi Yuqi beat Taiwan's Chou Tien-chen 21-11 21-19, but reigning men's singles world champion and Paris Olympics silver medallist Kunlavut Vitidsarn was knocked out in straight games after France's Alex Lanier triumphed 22-20 21-15.

Lanier, who had won the Orleans Masters before arriving at the All England Open, had also beaten the Thai player at the India Open in January.

With world number two Viktor Axelsen's quest for a third All England title coming to an end on Wednesday, Anders Antonsen was the last Dane standing but the second seed was also knocked out 21-10 21-13 by Taiwan's Wang Tzu-wei, who will face Lanier.

In the women's draw, Olympic champion and South Korean top seed An Se-young was tested by Scotland's Kirsty Gilmour but came through with a 21-12 16-21 21-8 victory.

China's second seed Wang Zhiyi also came through unscathed with a 21-11 21-16 victory over Taiwan's Hsu Wen-chi while Japan's third seed Akane Yamaguchi beat India's Malvika Bansod 21-16 21-13 to advance to the quarter-finals. REUTERS