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Adcocks lead way at YONEX All England Open 2018

Chris and Gabby Adcock celebrate as they progress
Chris and Gabby Adcock celebrate as they progress

Chris and Gabby Adcock returned from three months out of tournament action to lead the way for the British players on day one of the YONEX All England Open 2018.

The Adcocks also shook off a tough first-round draw to come out on top against in-form Malaysian pairing Goh Soon Huat and Shevon Jemie Lai, winning by a scoreline of 21-14 21-15 in Birmingham.

The Malaysian duo were fresh from a title at the YONEX German Open last week and are ranked tenth in the world but couldn’t cope with the married British pair who were roared on by the raucous home support.

“You always feel like you’ve got it in the locker, but it’s probably one of the best performances in a long time, it’s really great,” said Chris Adcock.

“It’s been a real tough 2018, especially for Gabby, she had a really nasty ankle roll in the Indian league but she’s worked incredibly hard and I’m really proud of her.

“We’ve honestly only had a week on court so it’s unbelievable to beat a world top ten pair like that.

“It’s a credit to Gabs for getting herself ready so we could play in this amazing atmosphere.”

There was further English success in the men’s doubles on day one in Birmingham as Olympic bronze medallists Marcus Ellis and Chris Langridge stormed through their first-round match against India’s Manu Attri and B.Sumeeth Reddy.

Ellis and Langridge aren’t seeded at the All England Open but gave a composed performance to seal a 22-20 21-12 win.

The home favourites started well and surged into a 15-8 lead in the first game before holding off a late comeback that saw them 20-19 down at one stage.

“It was on paper supposed to be a comfy-ish one,” said Langridge, 32. “We’ve played that pair three times and we’ve never beat them, it’s just the styles don’t really work.

“First set we nearly threw it away but obviously managed to clinch it and then the second one was a lot more refined.

“At times in this match we played well and at times we didn’t play so well but the main thing was we kept it together when it mattered – which was the end of the first and we pulled through.

“We’re obviously really relieved to get England’s first win of the day and to get through the first round.”

Ellis also helped deliver a third home success on day one as he and mixed doubles partner Lauren Smith dispatched Dane’s Mikkel Mikkelsen and Mai Surrow 21-15 21-17.

Ellis and Smith have beaten the Danes twice before but will now face Indonesian fourth seeds Praveen Jordan and Debby Susanto in Thursday’s second round.

There was however less success in the singles draw with Rajiv Ouseph losing 21-13 21-14 to Huang Yuxiang, whilst Scotland’s Kirsty Gilmour lost out 21-15 21-19 to Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrungphan.

The world’s best badminton players are in Birmingham for the YONEX All England (14-18 March). For tickets, TV schedule results, & reaction: allenglandbadminton.com