• Badminton World Championships

British pair storm into quarter-finals

ESPN staff
August 11, 2011
Chris Adcock and Imogen Bankier are into the quarter-finals of the World Championships in London © PA Photos
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Chris Adcock and Imogen Bankier claimed another scalp as they reached the mixed doubles quarter-finals at the Badminton World Championships in London.

Spurred on by the home fans at Wembley Arena, Adcock and Bankier sent No. 15 seeds Shintaro Ikeda and Reiko Shiota packing after claiming a hard-fought 17-21 21-15 21-16 victory.

Having upset the eighth seeds on Wednesday, the British pair's hopes of another upset looked faint when they lost the opening game. Trailing by four points at the halfway stage in the second, Adock and Bankier's impressive run looked to be coming to an end, but they dug deep to force the match to a decider.

Riding on the crest of a wave, Adcock and Bankier took an early lead in the third game and never let the Japanese pair back in as they closed out an impressive victory, before sinking to their knees in celebration.

"We had nothing to lose and I think our reactions show how much we are enjoying it," Adcock said. "That this is what we live for, what we have dreamed of, so hopefully we can keep that momentum going."

Next up for Adcock and his Scottish partner are Chinese fourth seeds Tao Jiaming and Qing Tian, who defeated the Polish pair Robert Mateusiak and Nadiezda Zieba 21-15 20-22 21-16.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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