Ben Lane and Sean Vendy were beaten in a quarter-final thriller at the HYLO Open to bring England’s participation to an end in Germany.
The men’s doubles pairing were up against Thailand’s Supak Jomkoh and Kittinupong Kedren in the last eight and led 16-12 in the first set, only for Jomkoh and Kedren to hit back and take it 21-18.
Lane and Vendy levelled matters by taking a tense second set 22-20 and looked well placed in the decider as they built a 13-7 lead.
But once again the Thai pair refused to lie down and reeled off seven consecutive points to inspire a turnaround, winning the third set 21-18 to book a place in the last four after a marathon clash lasting an hour and eight minutes.
Heartbreak for Lane/Vendy💔 @BenLane012 & @SeanVendy were edged out in a three set epic by Thailand pair Supak Jomkoh & Kittinupong Kedren 18-21 22-20 18-21 in an hour and eight minutes match🏸
Unlucky boys onto the next!💪 pic.twitter.com/OGUFMnYKDY
— Badminton England (@BadmintonEnglnd) November 5, 2021
The sixth seeds had come through both their earlier matches in straight sets, overcoming India’s Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy before defeating Muhammad Shohibul Fikri and Bagas Maulana of Indonesia.
Callum Hemming and Steven Smallwood also eased their way into the second round of the men’s doubles, beating Mathias Boe and Michael Sarfelt 21-6, 21-17 to set up a clash with third seeds Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto.
The English pair battled hard before going down 21-16, 21-19 against the Indonesian duo.
The third duo in the men’s doubles draw, Matthew Clare and Ethan van Leeuwen, went down in straight sets in their first-round clash with Scotland’s Alexander Dunn and Adam Hall.
The mixed doubles saw Marcus Ellis and Lauren Smith enter as third seeds, a status they justified in a one-sided first-round win over Jones Ralfy Jansen and Linda Efler which was completed in less than half an hour.
But Chen Tang Jie and Peck Yen Wei proved a tougher proposition next up and though Smith and Ellis took the opener, the Malaysian pairing won the next two sets to seal their progress.
Hemming and Jessica Pugh, meanwhile, were beaten by Indonesia’s Rinov Rivaldy and Pitha Haningtyas Mentari in a hard-fought first-round clash (21-19, 21-18).
Smith was also seeded third in the women’s doubles alongside Chloe Birch but the pair were on the receiving end of an upset in the first round.
Japan’s Chisato Hoshi and Aoi Matsuda, ranked 68th in the world, came through a rollercoaster opening set 25-23 before taking the second 21-18 to inflict an early exit on Smith and Birch.
Pugh and Jessica Hopton also fell at the first hurdle, going down in straight sets against fifth seeds Puttita Supajirakul and Sapsiree Taerattanachai.