10 March, 2023
Chloe Birch and Lauren Smith tasted defeat in the second round of the YONEX German Open in their last competition before heading to Birmingham for the YONEX All England Open Badminton Championships.
The duo were handed an intriguing opening round draw at the Super 300 event against home pairing Linda Elfer and Isabel Lohau.
And Birch and Smith impressed with a confident win against the German pairing, prevailing 21-19 21-16 to progress to the second round.
There, the English pairing were handed a tough encounter against South Korean stars Kim So-yeong and Kong Hee-yong, the fourth seeds at the event – who have been ranked world No.1 in the past.
Despite a valiant display, Birch and Smith saw their campaign come to a close with a 21-13 21-10 defeat to the fourth seeds, who progressed to the quarter-final.
Birch and Smith will now make their way to Birmingham, where they will be playing together in the event as a partnership for the first time since 2021.
They will begin their tournament with a first-round match against American duo Srivedya Gurazada and Ishika Jaiswal.
