Birmingham, March 10: Olympic champion Chen Long of China suffered a surprise defeat to Thailand's Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk in the second round to crash out of the All England Open Badminton Championships here.

The fifth-seeded Chen, who won the event in 2015, lost 6-21, 19-21 to the 27-year-old Thai, who recorded one of his biggest victories in his career on Thursday, reports Xinhua news agency.

It was Chen's second year in a row to crash out in the second round of the world's oldest badminton tournament. He was dumped by compatriot Xue Song last year.

Six-time winner Lin Dan reached the quarter-finals with a 21-11, 21-12 victory over fellow Chinese Huang Yuxiang while top seed Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia braved a left knee injury to beat Wang Tzuwei of Chinese Taipei 21-18, 21-18.

IANS