Adcock and Blair fall in the semi-finals in Mulheim

Second seeds Chris Adcock and Robert Blair fell in the semi-final of the men's doubles at the Yonex German Open in Mulheim.

The England pair went down 28-26 21-16 against Koreans Lee Yong Dae and Shin Baek Cheol. It was Lee who had beaten Adcock in the mixed doubles quarter-finals the night before.

Adcock and Blair led 19-16 in the opening game before the Koreans caught up. In total the England pair had six game points before the Koreans took the game on their fifth.

In the second game Adcock and Blair saved three match points before Lee and Shin won it on their fourth to end a 40-minute duel.

But Adcock and Blair will have given themselves a timely boost by their efforts this week as they head home for the Yonex All England Championships, starting on Tuesday in Birmingham.

Friday

Chris Adcock and Robert Blair are through to the semi-finals of the men's doubles at the Yonex German Open in Mulheim.

The second seeds beat Kwon Yo Goo and Yoo Yeon Seong 21-16 11-21 21-19 in a gripping quarter-final. In the semi-final they will meet another Korean pair in Lee Yong Dae and Shin Baek Cheol.

But Adcock's bid for a second semi-final place ended in disappointment as he and Gabby White, the sixth seeds, went down bravely against Lee Yong Dae and Lee Hyo Jung, the Olympic mixed doubles champions.

The England pair were edged out 23-21 21-15 but Adcock will bid for revenge when he meets Yong Dae again in the men's doubles.

In the men's singles Andrew Smith took China's top seed Bao Chunlai to three games before losing 21-11 14-21 21-7. And three-times National champion Elizabeth Cann also went down to a top seed in the women's singles when she lost 21-8 21-17 to China's Zhu Lin.

The England performances in Mulheim will leave Ian Wright's players in good heart for next week's Yonex All England Championships in Birmingham, starting on Tuesday.

But first Adcock and Blair have unfinished business on Semifinal Saturday.

Thursday

Andrew Smith is through to Friday's quarter-finals of the Yonex German Open in Mulheim.

The fifth seed scored two wins on day two, beating Anand Pawar 14-21 21-4 21-8 in the second round and then toppling another Indian in ninth seed Arvin Bhat, coming from behind to win a tight match 16-21 21-11 21-19. That earned him a clash with China's top seed Bao Chunlai.

But English National champion Rajiv Ouseph's hopes of joining him were dashed when, after beating Malaysian Chun Seang Tan 21-18 17-21 21-15, he went down to Chinese qualifier Chen Long 21-12 21-14.

In the women's singles Elizabeth Cann faces the same sort of task as Smith after reaching the last eight. She beat Japan's Megumi Taruno 22-20 21-14 in the second round and now faces Chinese top seed Zhu Lin.

Sixth seeds Chris Adcock and Gabby White also went through to the quarter-finals with a 21-18 21-17 win over Canadians William Milroy and Fiona McKee and they now face Olympic champions Lee Yong Dae and Lee Hyo Jung of Korea.

But there was disappointment for Richard Eidestedt and Andrew Ellis in the mixed doubles when the top seeds went down 21-10 21-17 to Malaysian Halim Haryanto Ho and Indonesian Flandy Limpele.

But second seeds Chris Adcock and Robert Blair are through to a quarter-final clash with Malaysians Mak Hee Chun and Tan Wee Kiong after their 21-17 21-19 win over Koreans Kwon Yi Goo and Yoo Yeon Seong.

blair and adcockIn the women's doubles defending Yonex All England champions Lee Hyo Jung and Lee Kyung Won knocked out the Anglo-Scottish pair of Mariana Agathangelou and Jillie Cooper 21-11 21-10.

Wednesday

Rajiv Ouseph knocked out eighth seed Dicky Palyama of Holland to reach the second round of the Yonex German Open.

The English National champion won 21-12 21-18 to earn a second-round clash with malaysian Tan Chun Seang.

Fifth seed Andrew Smith also went thorugh to the last 32 but he was made to battle by Canadian David Snider before winning 23-25 21-19 21-16. He now meets India's Anand Pawar.

Elizabeth Cann is also through to the second round after winning her opening women's singles clash with Denmark's Nanna Brosolat Jensen 21-14 21-18. She now meets Megumi Taruno of Japan. Commonwealth bronze medallist Susan Hughes went down in three games to Holland's judith Meulendijks, losing 17-21 21-13 21-19.

Top men's doubles seeds Richard Eidestedt and Andrew Ellis had to work hard to win their opener against Poland's Adam Cwalina and Wojciech Szkudlarkczyk. Their 21-12 21-23 21-14 win earned them a second round clash with Flandy Limpele of Indonesia and Halim Haryanto Ho of Indonesia.

Second seeds Chris Adcock and Robert Blair had a comfortable 21-9 21-13 win over Baptiste Careme and Ronan Labar of France. But Chris Langridge and David Lindley went down 21-11 18-21 21-12 against Korea's Kwon Yi Goo and Yoo Yeon Seong.

Yonex All England champions Lee Hyo Jung and Lee Kyung Won of Korea were too strong for England's Sarah Bok and Gabrielle White. Their 21-6 21-9 win netted them a second-round clash with Mariana Agathangelou and Jillie Cooper after the Anglo-Scottish pair beat Samantha Barning and Eefje Muskens 21-17 21-17.

Sixth seeds Chris Adcock and Gabby White had a mixed doubles walkover to move within one win of a likely clash with Olympic champions Lee Yong Dae and Lee Hyo Jung in the quarter-finals.

But England's three other hopes fell in the first round. Third seeds David Lindley and Suzanne Rayappan missed a match point in losing 22-20 in the third game against Flandy Limpele and Anastasia Russkikh.

And Cooper and Agathangelou went out in straight games with partners Chris Langridge and Robin Middleton respecitvely against Korean pairs.
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