October 19, 2022
Both English doubles teams suffered a disappointing Denmark Open after exiting at the first hurdle on Tuesday.
Ben Lane and Sean Vendy were up first in men’s doubles action at the BWF World Tour Super 750 event but lost out to fellow unseeded pair – Chinese Taipei’s Lu Ching-yao and Yang Po-han in straight sets.
The English shuttlers had never beaten their opponents in the three previous meetings and that record never looked like changing in Odense.
The world number 13s were unable to win more than two points on the bounce or find any momentum against the former Thailand Masters silver medallists.
The English duo struggled in the opener and although the second set was closer to begin with, the Lu and Yang took control to secure a comfortable 21-11, 21-14 win.
Update: #DenmarkOpen2022
A tough day at the office for both pairs. Well fought, guys! Come back stronger! ❤️ pic.twitter.com/ID2ologaqD
— Badminton England (@BadmintonEnglnd) October 18, 2022
Fresh from a silver medal at the YONEX Dutch Open hopes were high for Callum Hemming and Jessica Pugh to continue their good form in a mixed doubles draw stacked with international quality.
However, they also suffered defeat in the first round with Thai pairing Supak Jomkoh and Supissara Paewsampran proving too strong on the day.
Their opponents showed their class in a competitive opening set.
With Hemming and Pugh leading 14-13, the contest turned when Jomkoh and Paewsampran won four points on the bounce to seize control.
The Thai duo closed it out and never looked back, the English shuttlers bowing out with a 21-17, 21-11 defeat.
A third English doubles team were set to compete but Lauren Smith and Chloe Birch were forced to withdraw from the women’s doubles.
Smith picked up an ankle injury in Sunday’s YONEX Dutch Open final, which forced them to pull out and settle for silver.
