Facing the world number two men’s double pairing at the All England Open Badminton Championships might be a daunting task for most – but not Chris Adcock for he has already toppled the best around this year.
Adcock and doubles partner Andy Ellis couldn’t have asked for a better build up to the All England Open as first they helped England bring back bronze from Moscow and the European Mixed Team Championships.
On route to doing so Adcock and Ellis got the better of world number one pair and Olympic silver medallists from London 2012 Mathias Boe and Carsten Mogensen of Denmark, their first victory in five attempts.
And this achievement is made all the more remarkable considering that Adcock had to team up with Marcus Ellis at the English National Championships last month with Andy ruled out injured.
The world number 23 pair will have to repeat their best at the All England Open however after been drawn against the second seeds and 2007 winners Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong of Malaysia in the first round.
But Adcock, who reached the second round of the German Open with Andy Ellis last week, insists they hold no fear having already proven their worth this year against the only pairing above their All England Open opposition in the world rankings.
“It was really disappointing when Andy got injured and I feared the worst,” said Adcock, who represented Team GB at the London 2012 Olympics. “I saw it and it looked pretty bad but miraculously he didn’t hurt anything more than what he did.
“He got back quicker that we expected and if you had told me then we would have beaten the world number ones in Moscow I would have bet my house against it but it shows how sharp we are.
“We’ve drawn the world number two pair in the All England Open, which is a tough draw, but we go in with no fear and nothing to lose.
“They will be fearing us and wary of us slightly because we’ve given them close games in the past. It is a tough game to start but I am really excited.”
It isn’t just the men’s doubles that Adcock is concentrating on though as he looks to continue to iron out the kinks in his relatively new again mixed partnership with Gabby White.
Things didn’t go according to plan at the Nationals as they were seeded second but failed to reach the final however last week they made the semi-finals of the German Open.
“The mixed doubles didn’t go the way we planned it at the Nationals. We set out to win and nothing else so that was disappointing,” he added.
“We have to build up our ranking in the mixed doubles whereas Andy and I are already there in the men’s doubles but I concentrate on it equally.
“It is always a challenge with a new partnership that you have to build up your ranking but it is all about getting better for Rio 2016. It’s all about developing ourselves and each other.”
© Sportsbeat 2013