23 August, 2023
Ben Lane and Sean Vendy fell to a battling defeat at the BWF World Championships as English interest came to an end on the third day of action in Copenhagen.
Quarter-finalists a year ago, Lane and Vendy dropped just 11 points in a comprehensive first-round win on Tuesday to book a round two contest against Indonesians Leo Rolly Carnando and Daniel Marthin.
Former junior world champions Carnando and Marthin are seeded 10th in the draw and had won both previous meetings with Lane and Vendy, but the English duo started brightly inside the Royal Arena.
Lane and Vendy battled their way to the opening game and nearly rallied from a significant deficit in the second, though the Indonesians held firm to force a decider.
And the 10th seeds were ultimately too clinical, closing out a 18-21 21-19 21-10 triumph to progress to the third round.
Meanwhile, earlier in the day Marcus Ellis and Lauren Smith saw their campaign come to an end with defeat to fellow Europeans Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue.
Seeded seventh in Copenhagen, French stars Gicquel and Delrue were favourites for this contest – but the English pairing had pushed them in both previous meetings this season.
But after losing a tight opening game, Ellis and Smith were eventually beaten 21-18 21-13 in their second-round encounter.
