The sheer exuberance of a home pair winning a round at the YONEX All England contrasted with the utter despair of a twice champion who capitulated at his first hurdle this year.

Then there was Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, still shattered by the recent loss of his father, dealing with concerns far beyond that of victory or defeat in a badminton match.

In terms of the canvas of human emotions, Wednesday had it all.

Viktor Axelsen, having previously announced his intent to go for a third title at the All England, had a blank look in his eyes as he surveyed the ruins of a campaign that failed to take off in the 115^th edition of the tournament. He had come in as favourite after winning his first German Open title two weeks ago; yet, after a spirited comeback against Chinese Taipei challenger Lin Chun-Yi, his game fell apart in the third.

“My body didn’t really allow me to play good badminton today,” said Axelsen. “Full credit to my opponent. I need to figure out what to do. The last couple of months I’ve been trying to see what I can do. I have no excuses – I lost to a better opponent.

“I got a little bit tense when my body was feeling bad, and that affected my entire game. But no excuses. To be honest, there’s a longer break awaiting me after this tournament.”

What could possibly outweigh the gravity of a title favourite’s loss in the first round?

A few days before the All England, mixed doubles duo Gregory Mairs and Jenny Mairs had announced this as their last international tournament. The world No.44 pair were calling time on their careers at an iconic tournament – one that, in recent years, had given them plenty of heartache. Their last three campaigns had seen them fall short of winning their opening round by the narrowest of margins – last year they had fallen to compatriots Marcus Ellis/Lauren Smith 22-20 in the third game. In six campaigns, they’d never won a round in the main draw.

And so, fighting to extend their time on court, the England pair played with flair to swing past Japan’s Hiroki Midorikawa/Natsu Saito 21-17 13-21 21-13. The celebrations that followed showed how much it meant to win one match.

“The last three years, we’ve lost 21-18, 21-19 in the deciding game and last year 22-20, and I think that kind of showed in the celebrations, it was all those years of pain,” said Greg Mairs.

“This tops anything else in our careers,” added Jenny. “It’s not just the fact that we just beat the No.8 seeds, but to do it on home soil and with so many friends and family watching in our last tournament. I can’t put it into words how special it is.

“The crowd really helped us there, after we lost our second game, they made a massive cheer as we walked back on court to start the third and that really gave us a lot of motivation to think let’s make them all come back tomorrow for us.”

These were thus results and emotions with great contrasts, but somewhere beyond the temporality of results were Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, still sombre from the personal tragedy that had unfolded with the death of Rankireddy’s father last month.

The Indian duo made the second round with a straight-games win in their first match since the tragedy, and Rankireddy sent a sign to the heavens.

“It’s tough, but that’s how life is,” Rankireddy said. “It wasn’t expected.”

He thanked his partner and the team for the support. “During hard times he (Shetty) came to my home town, we practised there a bit, and for that I’m thankful. He was there during my injury; his parents came down and our coach also came down to my home town. My father always wanted to bring them there.”

Shetty reflected on the sudden turn of events and his partner’s composure in the face of the tragedy.

“Credit to Satwik, what he’s gone through and how he’s come back and decided to play here, nobody could do that. Kudos to him, he’s a strong-willed person to come out of it, and keep it all aside, because that’s what his dad would’ve wanted him to do. I’m proud to be his partner.”

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