ALL ENGLAND OPEN: Quarter-final exits leave British 2012 race tense

By Jamie Holt, Sportsbeat in Birmingham

BRITISH rivals Chris Adcock and Imogen Bankier and Nathan Robertson and Jenny Wallwork both exited in the quarter-finals at the Yonex All England Open - leaving Olympic qualification as evenly poised as when they travelled to Birmingham.

LEADING THE WAY - JUST: Both Chris Adcock and Imogen Bankier and Nathan Robertson and Jenny Wallwork failed to progress past the quarter-finals in Birmingham

Adcock and Bankier were impressive in reaching the last eight of the mixed doubles - exacting more revenge on the pair that beat them to world gold last summer, Nan Zhang and Yunlei Zhao, by dumping them out of the first round.

They then saw off South Korean duo Yeon Seong Yoo and Ye Na Jang in round two to progress to the quarter-finals where, had they been victorious, they could well have faced Robertson and Wallwork in challenging for a semi-final spot.

But Adcock and Bankier fell 21-16, 15-21, 21-17 to Peng Soon Chan and Liu Ying Goh of Malaysia in the last eight while Robertson and Wallwork stumbled at the same stage after an equally impressive run.

Having beaten Songphon Anugritayawon and Kunchala Voravichitchaikul then Hung Ling Chen and Wen Hsing Cheng, Robertson and Wallwork lost 21-19, 14-21, 21-6 to fourth seeds Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir.

While at the All England Open both pairs have fallen down the world rankings, which will help decide who does and doesn't go to this summer's Olympics, but Robertson and Wallwork less so than Adcock and Bankier.

Previously ranked 14th, Adcock and Bankier are now 17th with Robertson and Wallwork dropping only one place to 19th with battle set to recommence at the Swiss Open swiftly after the conclusion of the All England Open.

It is widely accepted that whoever is ranked higher out of the two when the year-long Olympic qualifying window closes shut on May 3 will go but Olympic silver medallist Robertson still believes Adcock and Bankier have the upper hand.

"It's close but we're chasing," said Robertson. "We have four events left and the Swiss Open is next up before the qualifying ends and both British pairs are still in contention.

"We are running out of tournaments and we need to maintain this level, but it's up to them really, if they get the results then they will get there, they have played fantastic recently.

"Both pairs have had a brilliant week and showed they can be world class and compete with the best pairs in the world.

"We'll fight it out until the end of April, but this week looks to have guaranteed that we'll have a British pair in the Olympics, which is great."

Meanwhile Bankier believes her and Adcock's efforts in Birmingham is further proof that their world silver medal was far from a fluke - but is vowing not to get ahead of herself despite the Olympic qualifying clock ticking down fast.

"Our thoughts are still on qualifying obviously. It's tough out there to get results but we have shown this week that we are good enough to get those results," said Bankier. "It's a matter of taking it one game at a time; there are still a few more tournaments before qualifying finishes yet.

"I think on the whole we've had a good championships. Obviously we're disappointed to lose in the quarter-finals, but they are a good pair and I feel we can go back and learn a few things and come back stronger.

"We are still both young and developing; we have been playing together for a relatively short space of time so we'll learn from this experience. I think it has shown since the World Championships our performances are better, but we still have a long way to go."

You can still experience the world's elite badminton players battling it out for Olympic qualification points LIVE. Tickets are available for the remainder of the Championships at the NIA in Birmingham www.allenglandbadminton.com

© Sportsbeat 2012