Brits to face each other at All England Championships

Posted: Friday 20th February 2009 | 18:41

GREAT Britain's stars have been dealt a major blow ahead of the All England Open Championships, as their two best medal hopes have been drawn against each other.

European champions and 2007 runners-up Anthony Clark and Donna Kellogg will face former Olympic silver medallist Nathan Robertson and partner Jenny Wallwork.

Clark and Kellogg, who retained their English crown in January, are seeded fourth while Robertson - a 2005 champion with former partner Gail Emms - will compete in the annual event for the first time with 22-year-old Wallwork.

And the winners could face another English pairing should youngsters Chris Adcock and Gabby White progress to the second round.

Elsewhere, Anglo-Scottish pair Robert Blair and Imogen Bankier - seventh seeds - will square off against England's world 16 pairing of David Lindley and Suzanne Rayappan.

Andrew Smith, who beat Denmark's world No. 6 Joachim Persson as England lost in the European Championship final last week, is the only home player in the main draw of the men's singles and he faces India's Chetan Anand in the first round.

Two-time English National champion Rajiv Ouseph and runner-up Carl Baxter both have to qualify.

In the women's singles Elizabeth Cann is the only English player in the main draw and she faces a tough opener against seventh seed Wang Lin of China.

Scotland's Commonwealth bronze medallist Susan Hughes will face a qualifier.

English National champion Jill Pittard meets Finland's third qualifying seed Anu Nieminen in the first round of qualifying.

In the men's doubles Clark and Robertson are seeded eighth and face a tricky opener against Korea's Han Sang Hoon and Hwang Ji Man.

And in the women's doubles Wallwork and Gabby White face Malaysians Goh Liu Ying and Ng Hui Lin while England also have a second pair through to the main draw in Heather Olver and Samantha Ward, who take on Japan's Fujii Mizuki and Reika Kakiiwa.