Chris Adcock and Imogen Bankier hopeful of better funding for badminton in the country
England’s celebrated shuttler, Chris Adcock and Scotland’s Imogen Bankier are hopeful of better funding for the promotion of game in England, as the couple have performed well at the 2011 BWF World Championships. The couple finished at the runner-up position
in the Mixed Doubles category of the championship.
For the last few years, English shuttlers have always remained in the bottom at the World Championships. However, Adcock and Bankier stunned everyone by displaying a remarkable performance in the Mixed Doubles event of the championship. The duo defeated
many higher ranked shuttlers in their way towards glory, but failed to beat the challengers from China in the final of the event.
Nevertheless, the couple is happy with what they have achieved as they know that their performance will help in getting a positive opinion of officials and also, will trigger a fund allocation revision for the game in the next budget plan. Their wonderful
performance at the world meet has also boosted their confidence and they are ready to shine at the 2012 London Olympics, which will take place in the same Wembley Arena.
The performance of the Anglo-Scottish couple will help in getting better funding for badminton in the budget review for the game in 2013. Jens Grill, the performance director of Great Britain and Badminton England, said, “It's good... that we demonstrated
we have young players who can compete at the highest level.”
He further added, “However, I don't think of results as 'great, we've saved our funding now - (UK Sport) you have to continue to support us'. Obviously we have to demonstrate and give them some belief that this is not a one-off."
Bankier knows that they need to put more effort in their training sessions to get good results at international stage. She said, “We've had a fantastic results at the Worlds, but we now need to back up those performances - if we do that the points should
take care of themselves.”
Bankier and Adcock are ranked at Number 16 position in Mixed Doubles world rankings. They are working really hard to get good results in the upcoming events which will help them in earning ranking points to find a good standing for the 2012 London Olympics.
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