Callum Hemming and Steven Stallwood showcased their promise on World Championship debut but English participation has come to an early end in Huelva.
Hemming and Stallwood have put in a series of encouraging displays on the BWF World Tour throughout 2021 and began their big stage bow in confident mood.
Up against Nigeria’s Godwin Olofua and Anuoluwapo Juwon Opeyori, the childhood friends from Milton Keynes needed less than half an hour to wrap up a 21-9, 21-11 victory and ease into the second round.
They took their momentum into the clash with Chinese 16th seeds He Ji Ting and Tan Qiang, racing into a 15-6 lead in the opener and going on to take it 21-16.
But He and Tan, part of China’s 2021 Sudirman Cup winning team, were not going to go quietly and hit back to take the next two games, both by a 21-12 scoreline, and end Hemming and Stallwood’s progress.
In the same discipline, Ben Lane and Sean Vendy started and finished their journey at the second round stage after losing a decider against Fabien Delrue and William Villeger.
After falling behind, Lane and Vendy convincingly levelled matters by taking the second game 21-12 but went down 15-21 in the third in a clash lasting 65 minutes.
The mixed doubles saw Hemming back in action alongside Jessica Pugh, the pair’s first World Championship appearance together following Pugh’s previous visits alongside Lane.
Hemming and Pugh came through a nail-biting first round clash with Australia’s Simon Leung and Gronya Summerville 23-21, 22-20 before falling at the next hurdle as Japanese 13th seeds Yuki Kaneko and Misaki Matsutomo won in straight games.
Marcus Ellis and Lauren Smith were seeded sixth in the same draw and entered at the second round stage, where they played out an epic encounter with Kyohei Yamashita and Naru Shinoya.
The Japanese pair claimed the opener 21-16 but Ellis and Smith restored parity by taking the second 21-18 to set up a decider.
An 11-4 deficit proved too tough for the English pair to claw back and though they continued to chip away, they couldn’t avoid an early exit against the world number 53 pair, who triumphed 21-15.
Smith and Chloe Birch, seeded ninth in the women’s doubles, eased past Brazil’s Jaqueline and Samia Lima in straight games but were handed a tough third round draw against Bulgaria’s Stoeva sisters, who emerged victorious in straight games.
In the men’s singles, Toby Penty was handed a walkover in his first round tie with Toma Popov before narrowly going down against Nhat Nguyen.
The pair are ranked alongside each other in the world rankings, with Nguyen 51st and Penty 52nd, so a tight match was expected and that’s exactly what was served up as the Irishman came through 21-17, 23-21 in 55 minutes.
