Ouseph makes winning start at Olympics

Feltham’s Rajiv Ouseph got his Olympic Games campaign under way with a comfortable victory over Petr Koukal on Thursday.

Ouseph, the tournament’s 13th seed, beat world number 81 Koukal 21-14, 21-18 in the first of two group-stage matches.

The west Londoner had only lost once before to the Czech player in six previous meetings and that never really looked like changing.[phone][/phone]

He closed out the opening game well and hit the best shot of the match, a powerful cross-court winner, at 8-3 up in the second game.

Having seen three match points disappear, Ouseph finally won it when Koukal netted. He plays Sho Sasaki of Japan on Sunday.

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