CHRIS ADCOCK and Imogen Bankier’s bid to reach the final of the mixed doubles at the Swiss Open ended in disappointment tonight as their efforts at last week’s Yonex All England Championships and their brilliant displays in Basel this week finally caught up with them.

The leading contenders to represent GB in mixed doubles at London 2012 were beaten 21-19  16-21 21-13 by Yonex All England champions and top seeds Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir, the Indonesian pair they defeated at the same stage on the way to the silver medal at the Yonex BWF World Championships at Wembley in August.

But in reaching the last four in Basel they assured themselves 4,900 ranking points from this Grand Prix Gold event and that will boost their world ranking from No. 14 to the brink of the world’s top 10 as they look to claim the GB spot for Wembley. Their previous highest ranking was No. 11.

The Indonesians made a flying start, racing into an 8-1 lead and reaching the interval 11-3 ahead. Although Adcock and Bankier made some inroads into the lead the closest they got was within four points at 19-15 before Ahmad and Natsir won the next two to take the opener.

The second game was far tighter with the Indonesians edging ahead 5-3 but then both pairs traded points before Ahmad and Natsir reached the interval 11-10 ahead. But Adcock and Bankier refused to let them pull away and drew level at 13-13 before edging into a two-point lead at 17-15 and create the platform to level the match 21-16.

In the decider the Indonesians again set the pace and led 5-2 but Adcock and Bankier reeled them in at 8-8 before Ahmad and Natsir reached the interval 11-9 ahead. But then came a big push from the Indonesians, who won six of the next seven points to lead 17-10 and went on to take the decider 21-13 on their second match point after 52 minutes.

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Article by William Kings, Photo by BadmintonPhoto