Guildford-based Badminton Pair to Play for Team GB at Rio

Published on: 29 Jun, 2016
Updated on: 29 Jun, 2016

Pictured [L-R]: Lauren Smith, Marcus Ellis, Gabby Adcock, Chris Adcock, Heather Olver, Rajiv Ouseph, Kirsty Gilmour, Chris Langridge.

Pictured from left: Lauren Smith, Marcus Ellis, Gabby Adcock, Chris Adcock, Heather Olver, Rajiv Ouseph, Kirsty Gilmour, Chris Langridge.

By Will Parsons

Gabby Adcock and Chris Langridge, stars of the Guildford-based Surrey Smashers, will form part of an eight-strong Team GB badminton squad at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

25-year-old Adcock, who will partner with husband Chris in the mixed doubles, is set to compete in her first Olympic Games since winning her first international cap in 2007.

The pair rose to fifth in the world rankings in December 2014 after becoming the first British players to win a title at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Superseries Finals in Dubai, and currently sit at seventh ahead of the games.

Epsom-born Langridge will also take part in his first Olympic Games, featuring alongside fellow National Badminton League player Marcus Ellis.

Both players enjoyed success at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, helping Team England achieve a five-medal haul in badminton, more than any other nation at the tournament.

“The Olympics is the biggest thing in badminton,” doubles specialist Langridge said. “I started playing at the age of 10 so to be selected for Team GB is what I’ve been working towards for 21 years.”

Adcock added: “Now it has been announced, it is starting to feel real and there is a massive buzz around the National Badminton Centre.”

Smashers’ future

Surrey Smashers is also delighted to announce that both will complete for Surrey during the 2016/17 National Badminton League season, after the two players confirmed their futures with the club before the Olympic announcement.

Adcock and Langridge have been ever-present in the Smashers squad since the launch of the National Badminton League (NBL) in autumn 2014, with captain Chris featuring in every match-night across both seasons.

The experienced Langridge will lead the side again as they look to return to the Championship Play-offs in 2017.

GB success

Team GB have won two medals in badminton since its inclusion as a full-medal sport in 1992. Simon Archer and Joanne Goode took bronze at Sydney 2000, and Gail Emms and Nathan Robertson won silver four years later in Athens.

The full Team GB Badminton squad travelling to Rio this summer is as follows: Rajiv Ouseph – men’s singles; Kirsty Gilmour – women’s singles; Chris Langridge – men’s doubles; Marcus Ellis – men’s doubles; Lauren Smith – women’s doubles; Heather Olver – women’s doubles; Gabby Adcock – mixed doubles; Chris Adcock – mixed doubles.