History maker Ouseph out in quarters

Ouseph had already made history by becoming the first British man to reach the quarter finals of the men’s singles, but couldn’t see off the Dane to reach the semi finals.

Ouseph started slowly in the opening game and was always playing catch-up to Axelsen who opened a commanding lead.

A flurry of late points saw Ouseph close the gap but lose the first game 21-12.

The second game was closer, but Axelsen again proved too strong for Ouseph, and progressed 21-16 to complete a 2-0 win and book his spot in the semi-finals, where Axelsen will take on Chinese Chen Long.

But Britain still has a shot at a medal in the badminton, with Marcus Ellis and Chris Langridge going for bronze in Rio on Thursday.

The men’s doubles pair lost their semi-final against the Chinese pair of Zhang Nan and Fu Haifeng 21-18, 21-14 on Tuesday.

Aiming to become Britain’s first badminton medalists since 2004, Ellis said he and Langridge must put disappointment behind them.

“Playing for a bronze medal is still a great achievement and I am really excited and motivated to go out there and do well.”