BIRMINGHAM – Indonesian Jonatan Christie’s All England title defence unravelled in 32 minutes on March 13, as he lost 21-13, 21-10 to India’s Lakshya Sen in the second round.

Capitalising on the world No. 2’s slow start, Sen raced to a 6-1 lead in the first game at the Utilita Arena Birmingham and never looked back.

Unsettling Christie with his jump smashes and quick reflexes, the world No. 15 forced his opponent into making unforced errors as he sealed a quarter-final spot. The 23-year-old will next meet China’s Li Shifeng or Toma Junior Popov of France.

Christie joins two-time Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen and 2023 world championships runner-up Kodai Naraoka as the big-name casualties from this edition.

Naraoka was beaten 21-13, 15-21, 21-9 by world No. 26 Yushi Tanaka in an all-Japanese encounter on March 12, while Axelsen’s quest for a third All England title ended as he lost 21-19, 13-21, 21-11 to Chinese Taipei’s Lin Chun-Yi in a big first-round upset.

The 31-year-old Axelsen, one of the favourites to win the tournament, told Danish broadcaster TV2 he would take a break from the sport.

“I didn’t have the best feeling out there. I think it’ll be a while before I’m back on court,” he said.

“I don’t want to go into details. I think a longer break is ahead for me.”

The world No. 4 won the All England title in 2020 and 2022, and he is a two-time Olympic champion and two-time world champion.

Lin came out of top after a back-and-forth first game before Axelsen dominated the second.

The Dane was not able to keep that form in the decider, however, as Lin reeled off six points in a row en route to sealing the win.

“If I don’t play my best, everyone can win against me,” said Axelsen.

“Today’s opponent played a fantastic game, it was disappointing but that is how it is.

“I just tried to survive in the match. There is always a lot of pressure when I am here at the All England and every single day, and I got tense when my body was feeling bad and it affected my entire game.”

India’s two-time Olympic medallist P. V. Sindhu also made a surprise early exit, bowing out 19-21, 21-13, 21-13 in the women’s singles first round to Kim Ga-eun of South Korea.

Meanwhile, Sing...