The fans are back at the All England Open 2022 in Birmingham and the home players have benefited from the roar of the crowd, pushing them to get over the line at key moments.
-It’s what dreams are made of.
The words of Sean Vendy after securing an All England win against a tricky new Malaysian combination, Tan Wee Kiong/ Tan Kian Meng.
The English duo of Ben Lane/ Sean Vendy found themselves in a tense exchange at the end of the second game, squandering a match point and needing the crowd to get them fired up and urge them towards the win.
-It always means a lot to win any match at the All England. We came in knowing that if we stick to and execute our plan we can do well. We were able to focus on every point to the end, Lane asserted.
Lane/ Vendy took the match 21-14, 22-20 and will now face the World Champions Takuro Hoki/ Yugo Kobayashi who equally overcame a nail-biting end to their first match. The English pair scored a win against them at the Denmark Open 2019. This in addition to the home crowd may be the perfect formula for a thriller.
What a start
Chloe Birch and Jessica Pugh reignited their partnership in the best possible fashion – a win at the All England Open. Danes Christine Busch/ Amalie Schulz got off to a strong start and were 16-12 up in the second game.
The crowd were pushing the English pair on and cheered every point. Gaining confidence with every point, Birch/ Pugh turned the match on its head and won 11-21 21-18 21-14.
-There is not a better feeling than winning on home soil, Pugh said with a smile.
-Our coach gave us a good talking to, and it was great to have the crowd behind us at the moment, Birch added.
Next up is China’s Zhang Shu Xian/ Zheng Yu, who sent home the 2020 All England winners, Yuki Fukushima/ Sayaka Hirota.
Ellis/ Smith do it in two
Marcus Ellis/ Lauren Smith feel at home in Birmingham and have become crowd favourites over the years. Their familiar opponents today, Rinov Rivaldy/ Pitha Haningtyas Mentari, pushed the English pair all the way to 21-19 in the third game in Germany last week, but this time the job was done in two. Ellis/ Smith owe a lot to the much-missed home crowd.
-It’s extra special to have the home crowd back. It really lifted us. I don’t think we actually realised how much we were affected by the lack of crowd, Smith explained.
-You always like the attention, Ellis joked to Smith.
-I miss the atmosphere. As an athlete, you really want the adrenaline pumping and it is a lot easier to do that when you have a crowd of people shouting for you, Smith added.