Chris and Gabby Adcock, England’s number one pair, went through the gears to advance to the last 16 of the YONEX All England Open Badminton Championships in Birmingham on Wednesday.
The world number seven duo were 14-5 up before being forced to save a game point in their first Superseries outing of the year. But they eventually came through 24-22, 21-12 against Indonesia’s world number 18’s, Ronald Alexander and Melati Oktaviani.
“We are 100 per cent capable of winning it and we have shown that with the success that we have had,” said Chris after their 35-minute win.
“We won the last Superseries event in Dubai so while it is not going to be easy to win the YONEX All England because there are some great pairings here, we know we have the calibre and the potential to win the competition and we have to keep playing well and enjoy ourselves out there.”
The Adcocks now face Korean pair Kim Jung and Shin Chan as they bid for successive berths in the YONEX All England quarter-finals.
“We did well to come back and win,” added Gabby “and to keep the English flag flying. We love playing here and the crowd always give you that extra couple of percentages.”
Marcus Ellis and Chris Langridge got the early morning crowd into the mood thanks to their on-court passion and endeavour against Chen Hung Ling and Chi-Lin Wang, of Chinese Taipei.
The English national champions fought hard in the first before finding clear openings in the second as they advanced 21-19, 21-14.
Langridge and Ellis’ reward was more pivotal Rio Olympics’ qualification points, as well as a tough last 16 encounter with Kim Gi Jung and Kim Sa Rang, Korea’s seventh-seeded opponents.
“Every tournament makes such a difference. You can be on the cusp and have a good tournament and can fill that last position or one of your rivals can jump ahead of you so there’s so much to play for, which makes these next five to six weeks so tense,” said Langridge.
Ellis added: “It’s more than just winning a round at the All England; it’s good points as it’s a Superseries event and we’ve beaten strong opponents who are a higher rank than us so we’re really pleased.”
Heather Olver and Lauren Smith came up against a tough Japanese outfit in Shizuka Matsuo and Mami Naito as the Asian duo advanced 21-10, 21-12.
Rajiv Ouseph was due to kick start his men’s singles lead later on Wednesday.
Full results, timings and draws available at here.
Report courtesy of Badminton England.
