The TOTAL BWF World Championships are well underway and the emotions are already running high. With top class players taking to the court, we've already witnessed some epic rallies and close calls!
England are contemplating a mix of feelings with their day one results, with success coming from their top two mixed pairings and early exits from Olympic medalists and younger players. Reigning European champions from England, Chris and Gabrielle Adcock kicked off their campaign with a comfortable win over India’s Rohan Kapoor and Kuhoo Garg 21-12 21-12 – allowing the sixth seeds to progress through to the third round.
Gabrielle Adcock happy with performances in the arena so far
-Last 16 for me and Chris here at the world championships…after a bye first round & today beating an Indian pair… The arena is playing pretty nice! Our next match will be Thursday! #letsgo #worldchampionships #badminton, Gabrielle Adcock (Instagram: gabbyadcock1)
Additionally, fellow compatriots Marcus Ellis and Lauren Smith fought of the Japanese challenge of Yugo Kobayashi and Misaki Matsutomo with an impressive 13-21 21-16 21-14 win later in the day. Meanwhile, Ben Lane and Jessica Pugh lost in two sets against Germany’s Marvin Emil Seidel and Linda Efler in their opening campaign 21-10 21-18.
The hopes of repeating the Rio 2016 Olympic Games quickly came under threat for bronze medalists Chris Langridge and Marcus Ellis as they went down to India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty in a three set thriller 21-19 12-21 21-19.
England will continue their doubles campaign in the third round with the following matches:
- Chris Adcock and Gabrielle Adcock, England (6) vs Jiting He and Yue Chndu, China (9)
- Marcus Ellis and Lauren Smith, England (11) vs Peng Soon Chan and Liu Ying Masgoh, Malaysia (8)
The TOTAL BWF World Championships continue all week long, with the finals taking place on Sunday 5 August in Nanjing, China. Keep up to date with the latest news and results
here.