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BIRMINGHAM, England, March 16-- Both men's and women's Olympic champions Chen Long of China and Carolina Marin of Spain crashed out at the quarterfinals of the All England Open badminton championships here on Friday. Chen, who won the title here in 2013 and 2017, was defeated by Chinese compatriot Shi Yuqi 21-10, 21-17 while women's fifth seed Marin, the 2017 winner, lost to second seed Akane Yamaguchi of Japan 21-15, 21-18. The fourth-seeded Chen was overpowered in the first game, trailing 4-0, 11-3 and never recovering in front of a pacy and in-form a 22-year-old Shi, who finished runner-up in last year's competition. The 29-year-old Chen managed to find his form in the second game, levelling the score at 15-15 and pulling ahead 16-15 as Shi made some mistakes. But Shi, the seventh seed, fought back with some powerful smashing shots and sealed the victory 21-17. "My teammate played really well," said Chen, who was stopped at the quarterfinals for the third year in a row. "He was more aggressive on the court. Especially in the second game when I was 16-15 down, there was a net call, that was a vital point to lose. But I genuinely want to congratulate him and hope he can play well and win tomorrow." Shi was satisfied with his own performance, saying, "The first game was quite an easy game, the second was more tough, but it was still a good match." He will next face the either fifth seed Son Wan Ho of South Korea or Japan's Kenta Nishimoto. | 
