WORLDS 2011 QF – Great Britain secures a medal!

The host country will have a share in the hardware after all! In a superb display of mixed doubles badminton, Great Britain’s new heroes Chris Adcock / Imogen Bankier (pictured) combined powerful attacks and excellent control over the net, eliminating 4^th-seeded Chinese pair Tao Jiaming / Tian Qing, 21-16, 21-18.  Meanwhile, European hopes are alive in men’s singles as well, thanks to a brilliant display from Peter Gade.

By Emzi Regala, Badzine Correspondent.  Photos: Badmintonphoto (live)

Bankier read almost every move by the Chinese players, her racket raised up high ready to defend at all times.  Adcock complemented with crisp and precise smashes. At 20-16 in the second game, nerves started to set in as 2 successive match points were saved by the Chinese pair, before the Brits took the final point.

Bankier lay in the floor extremely ecstatic over their win, while Adcock rushed to hug his coach, took off his t-shirt and tossed his winning badminton racket out to the audience to celebrate the moment.  Adcock/Bankier will meet Indonesia’s Ahmad/Natsir in the semi-finals tomorrow.

“The whole thing was a blur. I am speechless,” Chris Adcock told Badminton England afterward.  “Our aim was always to get a medal but to achieve that is a dream come true. The feeling that went through me at the end was nothing I had experienced before. It makes everything worth it.

“It’s put badminton as a sport back on the radar. We have proved this week that anything can be done and nothing is impossible. It’s an amazing achievement with such an exciting year to come.”
“We have to try to come down from this, not that we want to,” Adcock added on Saturday’s semi-final against the 2^nd-seeded Indonesians.
“We had our tactics absolutely perfect today,” said Imogen Bankier.  “We knew how strong they would be. All we could focus on was the finish line. We really want to make the final and we’ve shown people should be getting excited about badminton.

“The home support was out of this world today. It was our day today. I don’t know what happened at the end. I threw my racket and nearly hit Chris’s girlfriend [Gabby White]. But I didn’t mean to do that at all!

“This win is not just for us, it’s for all the other players and support staff. There are a lot of good things coming out of the sport.”

Peter Gade: a class act!

Peter Gade (pictured) of Denmark taught the world a very important badminton lesson today.  The formula to successfully overcoming fatigue: brains, class and a never-say-die heart. The 34-year old Dane endured 82 minutes of world-class badminton against Vietnam’s Nguyen Tien Minh.

Peter paused to catch his breath several times as his coaches looked worried, knowing that the Danish hero was exhausted.  With the crowd behind the underdog, who had just erased the #3 seed’s 19-15 lead, Peter did the unbelievable – he took the next two points to tie the match at one game apiece and force a deciding 3^rd.

Fully aware that he needed to conserve his energy, Peter sought opportunities for quick kills and successfully landed his smashes down the lines.  To the delight of the wildly cheering Wembley crowd, the ending to the most dramatic match of the day was 17-21, 21-19, 21-13, with Peter Gade assured of bringing home a medal in the last World Championship appearance of his badminton career.

“The 2nd set was a very tough one for me,” Peter Gade admitted to his Facebook fans.  “However when I got the 2^nd, I knew that I could win the 3rd and the match. Nguyen seemed to mentally lose strength and I tried to take advantage of that and I guess that worked out well for me.

“I had hoped for an easier match tonight, but on the other hand I’m so proud of another medal and the fact that I never lost my fighting spirit tonight.”

Lin Dan (pictured) awaits Peter in tomorrow’s semi-final match.  Earlier in the day, Super Dan convincingly won back his pride and honour against Japanese Samurai Sho Sasaki 21-14, 21-16, the very man who unexpectedly cut short his Indonesian Open campaign this past June.

“Before the tournament, my dream was to be in this semi-final against Lin Dan and now it’s a reality,” said Gade on his Facebook page. “I’m gonna give whatever I have left in my body and mind tomorrow and hope for a small miracle.”

All results HERE

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