ENGLAND’S only remaining chance of a medal at the World Championships at the National Indoor Centre in Birmingham disappeared yesterday when Nathan Robertson and Gail Emms, recently world No 1 in mixed doubles, were beaten 15-11, 15-9 in the quarter-finals by their old adversaries, Chen Qiqiu and Zhao Tingting, the unseeded duo from China.
Robertson and Emms, the No 3 seeds, recovered from 12-6 down to 13-11 in the first set, but when Robertson put a disguised jab into the net, their performance fell away.
Earlier, Camilla Martin’s hopes of winning back the women’s singles title in her last world championship before retirement came to an even more abrupt end. The 1999 champion from Denmark lost the last 14 points in a row, collapsing to a 11-6, 11-0 defeat by Zhang Ning, the No 2 seed from China. “She could not have played better. I think she is the best player in the tournament,” Martin said.
Four other Chinese players are at risk of disciplinary action over doubts about the competitiveness of a women’s doubles match. Henry Boon Kong Ee, the referee, said that the IBF would discuss the quarter-final featuring Gao Ling and Huang Sui, who were able to play at a slow stroll while beating Yang Wei and Zhang Jiewen 15-11, 15-2.
“I would think the IBF would do something,” Ee said. “If it comes to it we can disqualify them, but usually we would warn them first.”