A host of England badminton stars will take to the court at the Indonesia Masters as the pursuit for Tokyo 2020 qualification continues. Olympic bronze medallists Marcus Ellis and Chris Langridge will contend the men’s doubles, as will Ben Lane and Sean Vendy, while Chloe Birch and Lauren Smith play in the women’s doubles.
England have two pairs entered for the mixed competition with Chris and Gabby Adcock in action, as well as Ellis and Smith. It will be the first competition of 2020 for Ellis and Langridge, who last competed together at the Fuzhou China Open, and they will face off against top seeds Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo, who are ranked number one in the world and playing on home soil.
Meanwhile Lane and Vendy will be hoping to improve upon their first round exit at the Malaysia Masters, as they come up against Chinese Taipei pairing Lu Ching-Yao and Yang Po-Han. In the women’s doubles Birch and Smith, who are ranked 22nd in the world, start their campaign playing Danish duo Maiken Fruergaard Sorensen and Sara Thygesen.
Elsewhere the Adcocks begin their competition against Japanese pair Takuro Hoki and Wakana Nagahara, while Ellis and Smith face Rodion Alimov and Alina Davletova in the first round. Toby Penty will also be in action, taking his place in men’s singles qualifying against Koki Watanabe on Tuesday.
