All England Badminton 2012: Home Advantage Not Enough for Top English Pairs

It was a tough day for English badminton fans. 2 of the best English mixed doubles pair; Chris Adcock and Imogen Bankier; Nathan Robertson and Jenny Wallwork, have been eliminated.

With the support from the home crowd, both pairs fought hard in 3 games. But both failed to exploit the home ground advantage.

Chris Adcock and Imogen Bankier lost to Chan Peng Soon and Goh Liu Ying of Malaysia (21-16, 15-21, 21-17).

Nathan Robertson and Jenny Wallwork (ENG) were shown the exit by Indonesians Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir (21-19, 14-21, 21-6).

Here’s an interview with Robertson and Jenny after their quarter final match.

Outstanding Performance by Malaysia’s Chan Peng Soon &amp Goh Liu Ying

It was a thrilling match between Chris Adcock &amp Imogen Bankier (ENG) and Chan Peng Soon &amp Goh Liu Ying of Malaysia.

It was the second encounter between the 2 sides with the Malaysians winning the previous encounter. Despite that, the English pair achieved second place at the 2011 Badminton World Championships.

The English crowd were behind their home players all the way, but this was not enough.

Chan Peng Soon was just in an incredible form. The 23 year old Malaysian covered the centre and rear court excellently.

The Malaysians have been playing extremely well this year.

They reached the semi-finals on their home ground, in the Malaysian Super Series early this year.

Now, they’ve successfully won another opportunity to play in the semi-finals of this All-England Super Series Premier.

Let’s watch a post match interview with these young Malaysian pair.

Taufik Gave It All in First Set against Lin Dan

It was a clash between badminton’s top players. Former Olympic champion, Taufik Hidayat current Olympic champion, Lin Dan met in the quarter finals.

Taufik put up a good fight in his first set against Lin Dan.

Lin Dan had to work very hard to win every point in the rallies. Taufik’s performance lately has not been that outstanding.

But this time, his performance in this All-England quarter final shows that our former World and Olympic Champion is back!

Unfortunately, at 31 years of age, Taufik could not keep up with the game. Super Dan eventually took a wide lead in the 2nd match. It finished 21-18, 21-8.

Mathias Boe/Carsten Mogensen (DEN) Wants another Title

Top Danish men’s doubles pair Mathias Boe and Carsten Mogensen successfully eliminated their rivals, Chai Biao and Guo Zheng Dong (21-12, 21-19). It’s never an easy task seeing off Chinese opponents.

Defending champions Boe/Mogensen are definitely looking to make their way to the All-England finals. The previous All-England finalists Koo Kien Keat/ Tan Boon Heong were eliminated.

However, competition will still be tough as world no.2 Jung Jae Sung/ Lee Yong Dae will be meeting them in the semi-finals!

If they manage to get through, their opponents will most likely be the current world champions, Cai Yun/ Fu Hai Feng of China.