Dubai: There was still pride to play for after the English challenge came to a premature end with Chris and Gabrielle Adcock going down in straight games to the Chinese duo of Wang Yilyu and Huang Dongping on the second day of the BWF Dubai S\World Superseries Finals, on Thursday.
Needing a win in their second round-robin match, the Adcocks went down 21-14, 21-17 against the third-ranked Chinese. Wang and Huang were 16-12 ahead in the first game and the Chinese pair seized the advantage to take it 21-14 in 19 minutes. In the second game, the English couple took a handy 11-7 lead, but could not sustain the rhythm as Wang and Huang fought back to draw level 14-14 and then took the game 21-17.
“The final match on Friday is about playing for pride I suppose,” Gabrielle told Gulf News.
“It’s not that we played badly, but it is just the mistakes that we kept on making throughout. It’s the end of the season and we can’t really complain as we’ve enjoyed a good season. Now is the time to take a break and then start preparing for an even better 2018,” she added.
Having won the Dubai title in 2015 and finishing runners-up last year, the husband-wife pairing from England had come here this time as strong favourites. “Not everything went right for us this time,” Chris admitted.
“It has been a long year and the younger players especially from Asia are always improving and showing a lot of hunger to win at every given opportunity. We can’t really be upset, but just hope for a better season in 2018,” he added.
Gabrielle, who is five years senior to her husband, married in early 2016 immediately after sealing their first major success with a gold medal at the season-ending tournament in Dubai. 2017 has been among the best years for the Adcocks after landing up with a bronze at the World Championships in Glasgow. “I am confident 2018 will be even better,” Gabrielle confided.
