If the world No. 5 England’s Chris and Gabby Adcock could win the European badminton title this week, they would move one step closer to the world No. 1 ranking in mixed doubles.
“We are working towards that goal, and we believe we can get there,” said Gabby Adcock.
On their way to the championship, the pair will have to roll-past Denmark’s Joachim Fischer and Christinna Pedersen in the second round, and Scotland’s Robert Blair and Imogen Bankier if both pairs reach the semi-finals.
“On our day, we’re the better pair,” said Chris Adcock, who partnered Bankier at London 2012. Adcock and Bankier won world silver medal together in 2011, but lost all three group matches at the Olympic Games in London.
Bankier subsequently left the British high-performance squad to form an all-Scottish partnership with Blair, while Adcock rejoined then-girlfriend Gabby White. The two married in 2013.
“London 2012 was the low point of my whole career,” Bankier said. “We always thought, on our day, we could beat the best players but it just didn’t happen.”
“You know each other so well and there’s a bit of second-guessing, but they are obviously very good players,” said Chris Adcock, 24, of the Scots.
Bankier said: “We’ll come up against English players plenty of times and it’s more appealing to the public than us. It’s never particularly pleasant playing people you know, it’s not an encounter you look forward to.
Last year, the Adcocks won their first major title – the Hong Kong Open – and carried their form into 2014 by winning the Swiss Open.
