Jakarta: World No.2 men's single-player Shi Yu Qi has suffered a horrible ankle injury on Thursday afternoon in the round 16 for the Indonesia Open 2019.
Shi, tournament second seed rolled heavily on his left ankle in the competition against Denmark player Anders Antonsen as he was approaching the net in just the 14th point of the match.
Shi immediately fell to the ground in agonising pain. When the 23-year-old finally removed his shoe, the swelling around the left foot was there for all to see.
He was forced to retire with the score at 6-7 after just 12 minutes of play and was taken to hospital with a reported severe ankle twist.
The injury will have a serious impact to his immediate plans for the TOTAL BWF World Championships 2019 in Basel, Switzerland, in which he was considered by many to be tournament favourite, as well as his ongoing quest to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.