28 July, 2023
Marcus Ellis and Lauren Smith impressed on their way to reaching the last 16 of the Daihatsu Japan Open.
The English mixed doubles pair lost 21-19 21-13 to South Korean duo Ko Sung Hyun and Eom Hye Won as they were denied a place in the quarter-finals of the BWF World Tour Super 750 tournament.
Ellis and Smith fought valiantly to the last 16, beating Chinese Taipei’s Chang Ko-Chi and Lee Chih Chen in straight sets in the first round.
But it was not meant to be at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo for the 35th ranked pair in the world, eliminated in their second match to Ko Sung-Hyun and Eom Hye-Won.
Elsewhere, Chloe Birch and Lauren Smith bowed out in the first round, losing 21-13 23-21 to Japan’s Rena Miyaura and Ayako Sakuramoto in a tight second game – a much better display than in their last meeting against the same pairing.
And men’s doubles pair Ben Lane and Sean Vendy struggled with illness and lost 21-16 21-9 to Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi, who came in with confidence off the back of their Singapore Open win last month.
