All England Open: Chris Adcock and Imogen Bankier stun Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei in first round
England’s Chris Adcock with his Scottish partner Imogen Bankier delivered sensational performance when they defeated the top seeds, Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei of China, in Mixed Doubles first round of All England Open Premier Super Series on Wednesday, March
7, in Birmingham.
The un-seeded couple, Adcock and Bankier, played remarkable badminton and made the home fans happy by defeating Nan and Yunlei, who are currently World Number One in Mixed Doubles world rankings.
Adcock and Bankier worked really hard for 66 minutes in the court and remained successful in winning the battle in hard-fought three games.
On the other hand, Nan and Yunlei played good badminton but failed to produce impressive play in the concluding part of deciding game and lost the match with a narrow margin.
Right from the starting points, the top seeded Chinese couple dominated the pace of rallies by taking the bird early and also remained successful in setting up a comfortable lead of 11-7 until the one-minute interval.
After the break, Adcock and Bankier played good badminton by dominating the game at net and levelled the score by reaching at 12-12.
However, Adcock and Bankier failed to stop the progress of their higher ranked rivals in the concluding phase of first set and lost it with a five-point deficit of 16-21.
In the second set, Chinese shuttlers started well and took a small lead in the opening points. However, they could not maintain it as their opponents played positive badminton at this stage.
Adcock and Bankier managed to put pressure on the top seeds and reached at 11-7 until the end of first half.
After the break, Nan and Yunlei accelerated their speed and levelled the score at 13-13.
However, Adcock and Bankier managed to dominate the pace in the ending phase and won the second set with a tight margin of 21-19.
In the deciding game, both couples remained equal on the score board until 13-13 when Adcock and Bankier changed their tactics and played with wonderful aggression.
The lower ranked Adcock and Bankier maintained pressure on their rivals and grabbed the set with a close 21-19 score on the board.
Adcock and Bankier won this wonderful three-set contest in 66 minutes with a dramatic margin of 16-21, 21-19 and 21-19.
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