Ouseph run at French Open ended by Wang

Feltham’s Rajiv Ouseph crashed out of the French Open at the quarter-final stage after defeat to world number nine Wang Zhengming on Friday.

Ouseph, ranked 14 places below the Chinese player, took Wang to a deciding game before being beaten 21-17 12-21 21-8.

The 29-year-old made a solid start to the first game but from 13-12, Wang motored ahead and held off a brief Ouseph revival before closing it out.

Ouseph hit back with a superb display in game two, at one point claiming six points in a row to lead 18-9, and levelled the match at the first opportunity.

But Wang, who has not lost to Ouseph now in four previous meetings, won the first eight points of the deciding game and never surrendered his considerable lead.

Ouseph now prepares for next week’s Bitburger Open in Saarbrucken, Germany, where he will be the fifth seed and takes on world number 54 Ville Lang in the first round on Tuesday.