Ouseph admits pressure after shock exit

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Hounslow’s Rajiv Ouseph admitted he felt the pressure of competing in front of a home crowd at the Yonex All-England Open Badminton Championships after failing to reach the main draw.

The six-time national champion was beaten in the final qualifying round, going down in straight sets to India’s Sourabh Varma 21-13 in Birmingham.

Ouseph struggled for form throughout, and was always chasing Varma who appeared to adapt to the conditions inside the large hall better than the home favourite to produce a shock.

London 2012 Olympian Ouseph, who enjoyed a fine run to the quarter-finals of last week’s German Open, acknowledged he had been second-best throughout.

“I started quite well in the first game but he came back quite strongly and I didn’t come back at all until too late in that set,” said the 26-year-old.

“I tried to be a bit more aggressive in the second set but his defence was working quite well. I needed to be a bit more patient as well. I was trying to win the points too quickly and he managed to counter that.

“It was a really good chance for me to qualify and I am quite disappointed with how I played but there are some things to work on and I will try and work on those and do well in the next tournament.

“I would have liked to have done well here but I think there is a little bit more pressure on us and we didn’t produce this week, but there is some more tournaments to do well in so hopefully I can do well in those.

“It is always a struggle to play here in this hall and in the arena and I think I struggled to find my consistency in here so that is something to work on.”

Watch the world’s best players and London 2012 Olympians live. For more information or to purchase tickets go to www.allenglandbadminton.com or call the box office on 0844 444 9994

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