Comfortable wins send Shi and An into next round in Paris

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PARIS - Shi Yuqi and An Se-young advanced comfortably from the opening round of the Badminton World Championships in Paris on Monday.

World number one Shi of China had little difficulty dispatching India’s Lakshya Sen, claiming a 21-17 21-19 win in just under an hour.

Shi’s best World Championship result remains his silver medal in 2018 on home soil, but he arrives in Paris as one of the clear favourites for the title.

In the women’s draw, Olympic champion and world number one An of South Korea swept past Belgium’s Clara Lassaux 21-5 21-8 in less than 30 minutes to cruise into the last 32. REUTERS