November 2008 All News
Blair and Bankier fall in the China Open quarter-finals
Robert Blair and Imogen Bankier's China Open run came to an end in Shanghai today.
England's Edinburgh-born Blair and Scotland's Bankier (Glasgow), who this time last year won the Bank of Scotland Centenary International title, went down to China's Zheng Bo and Ma Jin in the quarter-finals of the mixed doubles 21-15 21-12.
The seventh seeds, Britain's last hopes in the Shanghai event, will now head to Hong Kong for next week's 12th and final event of Super Series 2.
ENGLANDíS Robert Blair (Leics) and Scotlandís Imogen Bankier (Glasgow) are through to the quarter-finals at the China Open in Shanghai.
They beat Yun Peng and Ho Halim Haryanto of Malaysia 21-8 21-14 in todayís mixed doubles second round and finished the day as the only British hopes left in the tournament.
They will now face Chinaís powerful Zheng Bo and new partner Ma Jin.
But Blairís hopes of reaching a second quarter-final were dashed when he and teenager Chris Adcock (Notts) were beaten by former world champions and second seeds Lars Paaske and Jonas Rasmussen despite a terrific effort by the England pair.
The Danes, who will be key figures when their team compete at the European Team Championships in Liverpool in February, won 21-13 19-21 21-13.
Nathan Robertson and Anthony Clark (both Notts) also went down to former world champions and eighth seeds Tony Gunawan (USA) and Candra Wijaya (Indonesia) 21-12 21-16.
Englandís last hope in the womenís doubles were Leeds pair Jenny Wallwork and Gabby White. They fell in the second round after a bold showing against eighth seeds Cheng Shu and Zhao Yunlei of China 21-9 21-19.
To check out scores view www.tournamentsoftware.com
Anthony Clark and Nathan Robertson got off to a winning start in the men's doubles at the China Open in Shanghai today.
They beat China's Xie Zhongbo and Zheng Bo 21-19 21-15 to move into the second round, where they were joined by Robert Blair and Chris Adcock after their impressive win over Qiu Zihan and Zhang Nan of China 15-21 21-15 21-15.
But that made up for a disappointing day for the mixed doubles pairs with Robertson and Jenny Wallwork edged out by Malaysians Chang Peng Soon and Goh Liu Yong 25-23 11-21 21-17 while sixth seeds Clark and Donna Kellogg went down 24-22 21-11 against Koreans Yoo Yeon Seong and Kim Min Jung.
Adcock and Gabby White fell to Yun Peng and Halim Haryanto Ho of Malaysia 21-15 21-14 but the Anglo-Scottish seventh seeded pair of Blair and Imogen Bankier beat Lim Khim Wah and Wong Pei Tty of Malaysia to stop the rot. They won a thriller 21-23 21-19 23-21.
There was men's singles disappointment for Andrew Smith, who lost to eight seed Park Sung Hwan of Korea 21-19 21-15.
But Jenny Wallwork and Gabby White gave England a women's doubles boost when they defeated Goh Liu Ying and Ng Hui Lin of Malaysia 21-19 21-18 to make up for Bankier and Sarah Bok's first-round exit 21-14 21-10 against Ma Jin and Wang Xiaoli.
ANTHONY CLARK and Nathan Robertson go into action at the China Open in Shanghai tomorrow (Wednesday). But the National champions have a tough first-round clash with China's Zheng Bo and Xie Zhongbo.
Clark, who looks sure to contest the Super Series Masters finals next month with Donna Kellogg as they are now No 3 in the world, is back playing with Robertson in a partnership good enough to win the European silver medal in 2004.
England's lone singles hope Andrew Smith takes on eighth seed Park Sung Hwan of Korea.
Robert Blair and Chris Adcock join Robertson and Clark in men's doubles where they face Qiu Zihan and Zhang Nan in the first round.
England's Sarah Bok teams up with Scotland's Imogen Bankier in the women's doubles where they are joined by Jenny Wallwork and Gabby White.
In the mixed doubles Robertson and Wallwork continue their new partnership while Adcock and White will gain more Super Series experience from this 11th event of the year. Clark and Kellogg will look to consolidate their world No 3 position after finishing runners-up in the French Open.
Blair and Bankier, who are passing up the defence of their Scottish title to play in Shanghai, are seeded seventh.
Meanwhile in Glasgow, National champion Elizabeth Cann heads a strong English line-up for the Bank of Scotland Scottish International Championships. The Jersey star, runner-up at last year's Centenary Bank of Scotland International Chamionships, is top seed in the women's singles.
David Lindley, who won the men's doubles with Blair last year and the mixed with Emma Chaffin in 2000, is out to retain his men's title with new partner Chris Langridge.
And he and Suzanne Rayappan, the world No 14s, are the pair to beat in the mixed doubles.
The first-round action starts on Thursday.
To check out results log on to www.tournamentsoftware.com