Chen stunned by unseeded German
Source: Agencies |
March 12, 2011, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
WORLD champion Chen Jin of China exited the All England championships on Thursday when he was beaten 18-21, 20-22 in the second round by unseeded German Marc Zwiebler.
It was the second major surprise of the tournament after second seed Taufik Hidayat, a former world and Olympic champion, lost his first round match on Wednesday to Japan's Kazushi Yamada.
Chen looked to be fighting his way out of trouble against Zwiebler when he led 20-17 in the second game but the German battled back bravely to win five points in a row and secure a place in the quarterfinals. "It's one of the biggest wins in my career, that's for sure," the delighted winner said.
Chen, seeded six and an All England title winner in 2008, looked second best in the first game against the aggressive Zwiebler, world No. 16. But at 14-8 to Chen in the second it seemed order would be restored only for the German left-hander to fight his way back and then save three game points before sweeping to victory.
"I think playing in Europe made a difference and also in this hall," Zwiebler told reporters. "He made a few mistakes at 17-20 and as I got closer then he got nervous, I think, and I tried to play cool."
Zwiebler, who will be 27 tomorrow, now faces fellow giant-killer Yamada who booked his last-eight slot by beating China's Wang Zhengming 21-15, 19-21, 21-16.
While Chen struggled, teammate and Olympic champion Lin Dan, chasing his fifth All England title, suffered no such problems, easing past unseeded Indonesian Dionysius Rumbaka 21-11, 21-17.
Earlier, world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia battled past Bao Chunlai of China 21-16, 21-16.
It was the second major surprise of the tournament after second seed Taufik Hidayat, a former world and Olympic champion, lost his first round match on Wednesday to Japan's Kazushi Yamada.
Chen looked to be fighting his way out of trouble against Zwiebler when he led 20-17 in the second game but the German battled back bravely to win five points in a row and secure a place in the quarterfinals. "It's one of the biggest wins in my career, that's for sure," the delighted winner said.
Chen, seeded six and an All England title winner in 2008, looked second best in the first game against the aggressive Zwiebler, world No. 16. But at 14-8 to Chen in the second it seemed order would be restored only for the German left-hander to fight his way back and then save three game points before sweeping to victory.
"I think playing in Europe made a difference and also in this hall," Zwiebler told reporters. "He made a few mistakes at 17-20 and as I got closer then he got nervous, I think, and I tried to play cool."
Zwiebler, who will be 27 tomorrow, now faces fellow giant-killer Yamada who booked his last-eight slot by beating China's Wang Zhengming 21-15, 19-21, 21-16.
While Chen struggled, teammate and Olympic champion Lin Dan, chasing his fifth All England title, suffered no such problems, easing past unseeded Indonesian Dionysius Rumbaka 21-11, 21-17.
Earlier, world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia battled past Bao Chunlai of China 21-16, 21-16.
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