Peru Challenge Review

Marcus Ellis and Lauren Smith bowed out of the Peru Challenge 2023 after falling in the deciding game of their round of 16 clash.

The mixed doubles top seeds worked their way back into the contest to force a third game but were eventually defeated 8-21 21-17 18-21 by Brazilian duo Davi Silva and Sania Lima. 

The shuttlers could not quite match their winning exploits from earlier in the month when they registered their first tournament win since 2020 at the YONEX Belgian International. 

Ellis and Smith beat Danish duo Mikkel Mikkelsen and Rikke Soby 21-18 21-15 in the final in Leuven but could not reach the same heights in Lima. 

The English pair were granted a bye in Round 1 but started slow against Silva and Lima in the round of 16, losing the first 21-8. 

A second-game revival saw two close contests follow but the world no.28 pair could not hold on, losing the final game by a three-point margin in a 56-minute contest. 

Elsewhere, Rohan Midha dropped out in Round 1 of the men’s singles to Mexican Luis Ramon Garrido. The 33-year-old lost 21-16 21-8 in Peru as world no.132 Garrido emerged the comfortable victor.