In the first round of the All England Badminton Open held on the evening of March 3rd, Beijing time, the defending champion Shi Yuqi lost to the 24-year-old Indian star Lakshya in three hard games and suffered a "first-round elimination". After that, Wang Zhengxing and Weng Hongyang were also eliminated, and the national badminton men's team lost three generals on the first match day.
Shi Yuqi lost to Lakshya and stopped in the first round
Relying on his physical advantage, Lakshya took the initiative from the beginning and used speed to restrain Shi Yuqi's delicate skills. The Indian players widened the point difference in the first game. Shi Yuqi came from behind and saved 5 game points in a row, but still lost the first game 21-23. In the second game, Shi Yuqi was almost tied when he was leading by 6 points. He tied the score 21-19 and dragged the game into the deciding game. However, in the deciding game, Lakshya was still strong and did not show any signs of fatigue until the end. He finally won the game 21-17, winning by a big score of 2-1. Shi Yuqi, who topped the All England Open last year for the first time in seven years, unfortunately stopped in the first round this year.
2025 is a relatively complete year for Shi Yuqi's career. In this year, he not only gathered all the Super 1000 championship puzzle pieces, but also finally transformed from the "King of Open Championships" to the World Championship Champion.
Just four days ago, Shi Yuqi celebrated his 30th birthday. In an exclusive interview with "Global People", he revealed: "I have not made it clear that I want to compete in Los Angeles (Olympic Games), so we still take it one step at a time." Shi Yuqi, who has participated in two Olympic Games, said frankly: "The main reason is that the injuries now are indeed more complicated and more numerous. It is still difficult to compete with a intact body, but I hope to overcome it as much as possible."
Malaysian Open final Shi Yuqi chose to abstain due to injury in the second game
This season, Shi Yuqi has only played in one Super 1000 Malaysian Open match. After making it all the way to the finals, he lost the first game 21-23 against his old rival Kunlavut. In the second game, he chose to abstain due to injury when trailing 1-6 in the second game, and finished second. The 24-year-old Thai star was crowned Super 1000 champion for the first time.
In this All England Open, the National Badminton Team sent a total of five men's singles players to participate. Men's singles is also the only event in which the National Badminton Team has two active All England Championship champions. Shi Yuqi reached the top twice in 2018 and 2025. Li Shifeng defeated Shi Yuqi to win the championship in 2023, but now both of them are suffering from injuries. Li Shifeng, the No. 2 men's singles player in the country, retired due to injury in last year's year-end finals. He only played one game this year, losing 0-2 to Japanese player Koga Ho at the German Open.
Although Li Shifeng advanced to the top 16, his physical condition is still not optimistic
In the first round of the men's singles match, Li Shifeng advanced to the top 16 by defeating his teammate Wang Zhengxing 2-0. The latter was the dark horse of last year's China Open. He made it all the way to the final, losing to Shi Yuqi and finishing second. The third national badminton men's singles player Weng Hongyang lost to Hong Kong player Lee Cheuk-yiu 19-21, 17-21 and stopped in the first round. Lu Guangzu will challenge No. 2 seed Kunlavut on the 4th, which is not easy.
