Marcus Ellis admitted he had to pinch himself in amazement after qualifying for the men’s doubles quarter-finals alongside Chris Langridge on Saturday.
With one win and a defeat in their opening two matches, Ellis and Langridge went into their clash with Poland’s Adam Cwalina and Przemyslaw Wacha knowing that a victory would see them escape Group C.
And that is exactly what they got, winning 21-18, 21-16 against the Polish duo, in which Cwalina is a familiar face as he turns out against them in the National Badminton League for the University of Nottingham.
It means that Ellis and Langridge will go again in Rio on Monday as one of eight final pairings, and the duo couldn’t contain their delight.
“It really is an amazing feeling,” Ellis said. “It makes all those hours training all year worth it and it’s so nice that it can all come together on a day like this.
“This was a game we expected to win. Against the Koreans, they are a world class team so to beat them was a mega achievement.”
Langridge added: “The Poles, they’re an awkward pair to play and we had so much pressure on us but we’re so pleased to get through it and do so in a mature way.
“I was a bit nervous in the first set but Marcus pulled us through then I started to relax and it showed even though we were 11-8 down. It just flowed better and we’re so, so pleased to make the quarter-finals.
“If Marcus and I put the hard work in we can achieve great things. It was great to play here today in front of a crowd and see so many GB flags. You can really feel the atmosphere and it’s been an unbelievably three days.”
