Basel: World No. 42, Rajiv Ouseph the undisputed men’s singles number one in England, has hung up his racket following his first-round loss at the World Championships in Basel, Switzerland.
Ouseph, the 2017 European champion, managed to save 3 match point, rallying from 16-20 down to come within a point. Unfortunately, luck was not on his side and he was knocked out by World No. 4 Jonatan Christie of Indonesia 15-21, 19-21 on Monday.
The two-time Team GB Olympian and nine-time Great Britain national champion had announced on July, 2019 that he would end his international career in Basel, in the week of his 33rd birthday. This week also marked the exact 10 years after capturing his first international title at the 2009 Canadian International.
“I had been thinking about this for a while, mainly due to the fact that I have a new family, and my body couldn’t take on the training as I used to, and also I would like to give Toby (Penty) an opportunity to play in the Olympic next year,” said Ouseph to BWF.
Although Ouseph admitted it’s difficult for him to retire, but he was happy with his achievements at the England team.
“Of course, I would like to do better, nevertheless, it was good to achieve what did with the limited resources we had,” added Ouseph.
Ouseph was the winner of five European Championship and two Commonwealth Games individual medals. His greatest achievements came in 2017 European Championships when he defeated Hans-Kristian Vittinghus of Denmark 18-21, 23-21, 21-16 in the semi-finals, and beat Anders Antonsen of Denmark 21-19, 21-19 in the final to win the European title. He was also the first English player to win the European men’s singles gold in 27 years, and only the third in England’s history.
BadmintonPlanet would like to wish Rajiv Ouseph good luck as he starts the next chapter in his life!!
