All England champion Gopichand out on first day

Defending champion Pulella Gopichand of India bowed out on the first day of the All England badminton championships on Wednesday, losing 3-7, 7-1, 8-7, 7-4 to Malaysia's Muhammad Hafiz Hashim.

The second round victory against such a high-profile opponent marked a major advance for the 20-year-old Hashim, who is ranked 23 in the world.

It was the first time since 1989 that a defending All England champion had gone out on the opening day, when traditionally two rounds are played.

"I'm so happy I just want to jump around," said Hashim.

Gopichand's triumph in 2001 thrilled India, a country which has enjoyed little sporting success in recent years.

But after a comfortable first round victory earlier in the day, on Wednesday, he struggled to cope with the after-effects of a stress fracture in the foot suffered in December, which meant he only resumed playing two weeks ago.

"The lack of match practice worked against him," India coach Sanjay Sharma said.

Earlier, Denmark's Peter Rasmussen, the 1997 world champion who had to qualify for the first round after long spells out through injury, was beaten 5-7, 7-1, 7-0, 7-4 by Malaysia's Ismail Saman.

The tournament had already lost three other big names before a shuttle was struck.

Indonesian World champion H. Hendrawan had to withdraw with a fever earlier in the week and Denmark's Peter Gade, a former All England champion, pulled out last week with a bad knee. In addition, Taufik Hidayat has been blocked from playing by his Indonesian association because he is shifting loyalties to Singapore.

Earlier report:
Gopichand, Shyam Gupta in second round