New Delhi, Jan 18 (PTI) World champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn crashed out of the India Open Super 750 badminton tournament in a day of upsets here on Thursday.

The 22-year-old defending champion, who has struggled to cope with expectations following his World Championship feat, was edged out 21-16 20-22 21-23 by Hong Kong’s Lee Cheuk Yiu in a second-round match that lasted an hour and 22 minutes.

It was also curtains for All England champion Li Shi Feng after unseeded Japanese Koki Watanabe outwitted the third seeded Chinese 32-24 13-21 21-9 in a 71-minute clash.

“Today it wasn’t a good performance from me. The last game there was pressure and I couldn’t control things. The opponent played well and I need to learn again from every tournament,” said world no. 8 Kunlavut.

“I am getting better but I am not yet good enough. I still feel the pressure in the game and sometimes I’m not in control. He was good in his attack and was fast. I need to focus on myself, without thinking about others.” “Every player is fast and strong so I need to train hard and get more fit.” Talking about the upset win, World No. 18 Lee said: “I am happy and excited a bit to beat him. I have lost some tough matches and I always tried to get stronger and better.

“Now every player has a chance to beat top players. The Olympic is coming soon so that is the final target.” Koki Watanabe vs Li Shi Feng ================== Watanabe came into the match with a 1-3 deficit but dished out a superb performance to outwit the Chinese.

“I was playing well but I got tired a bit in the second game but once I was back on the winning court, I stepped up the pace and looked at placements as my opponent is a tall guy,” said Watanabe, who started playing the sport at the age of five after being influenced by his elder sister who was also a player.

Source: PTI News