Surprise exit for English men’s doubles pair

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KUALA LUMPUR: Last year's World Badminton Championships runners-up Robert Blair-Anthony Clark headed for an early flight home to England after they were sent packing in the second round by Poland's Michal Logosz-Robert Mateusiak at Stadium Putra in Bukit Jalil today.

The ninth-seeded English pair lost 16-21, 16-21 to unseeded Logosz-Mateusiak in just 34 minutes.

Their defeat handed Malaysia's second seeds Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong an easier passage to the quarter-finals.

The English pair would have played Kien Keat-Boon Heong had they won today.

Blair-Clark were the surprise package of the World Championships last year when they finished runners-up behind Fu Haifeng-Cai Yun in Madrid.

In May, they played a pivotal role in helping England clinch a bronze in the Sudirman Cup (mixed team world championships) in Glasgow, Scotland.

Blair-Clark overcame Kien Keat-Boon Heong to clinch a crucial point and England went on to beat Malaysia in their opening group tie, which helped them reach the semi-finals for the first time.

Today, the English pair were left ruing their defeat by their Polish rivals.

"They did not let us into the game at all. But it's all our fault for letting them take control from the start. They attacked well, we lost our rhythm and it was just not possible for us to come back later," said Blair.

It was the first time the English pair lost to Logosz-Mateusiak in an international competition and they are hoping to learn from their experience.

"We will try to come back next time. We will try to qualify for the Olympics next year but we have to play better than this if we want to achieve our goal," said Blair.

                                                                                                                                                                                                    (source: The Star Online) 

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