Adcock, Bankier bow out at European Championships semi-finals – Badminton News
The prime Mixed Doubles pair of England, Chris Adcock-Imogen Bankier crashed out of European Championships after losing to the Polish duo Robert Mateusiak-Nadiezda Zieba in the semi-final match on April 20, 2012.
Both teams consumed their energies for 58 minutes to display final figures of 21-17, 17-21 and 21-19.
Adcock-Bankier, currently ranked 10 in world rankings, were one of the hot favourites for the title but their bid for glory ended just two steps away from the finish line.
On the other hand, the low ranked couple Robert Mateusiak-Nadiezda Zieba displayed superior badminton skills to ensure their presence in title match of the event.
In opening set of semi-final match, the Polish campaigners took some time to warm up as they were trailing behind with 8-11 score before the interval.
But after the mid-game break they geared up themselves and caught their opponents at 12-12 score position. They did not look back then and added four consecutive points in their total.
Their rivals never came back from this deficit and knelt down after reading 21-17 score on the board.
However, the British duo managed to make amends in next set and brought life back into match. The Mixed Doubles experts Adcock and Bankier established a decent lead with 11-9 score in first half of the set.
After the interval, the opposing team Robert Mateusiak-Nadiezda Zieba put a decent fight and stayed close to their rivals with 15-15 on the board but they could not go with same flow and lost second set with notable margin of 17-21.
The finals set proved best part of the match as both teams sweat hard to overcome their opponents and put a great show of court skills.
Both teams made the audience gasp as the semi-final tussle kept swinging between both contenders until the game point situation.
In opening part of the set, the Polish team unleashed a quick attack and registered three points in no time. They maintained this three-point advantage with 11-8 before the mid-game break.
After one-minute interval, the British pair stepped forward with five consecutive points and narrowed the gap but their progress was short lived as Robert Mateusiak-Nadiezda Zieba put their expedition to halt with 21-19 score in final set of the match.
Tags: