Jayce
Ben Lane and Sean Vendy are determined to conclude their campaign with a strong performance after their group-stage exit at the Olympics was confirmed.
In a hard-fought match at La Chapelle Arena, the Team GB duo were defeated by world number ones Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang in three games, lasting just over an hour.
After losing the opening game 18-21, Lane and Vendy rallied to win the second game 21-13. However, Liang and Wang secured their place in the quarter-finals with a 21-14 victory in the deciding game.
“Tough day, tough match,” Lane remarked. “We’ve come out on the losing side twice, but we gave it our all in both matches, in our preparation and build-up to this great tournament. Unfortunately, we’ve just come up short twice.”
Lane and Vendy had previously defeated the Chinese pair once in three meetings, at the 2022 French Open, but were unable to replicate that success on this major stage.
They will conclude their campaign against Canada’s Adam Dong and Nyl Yakura, whom the British duo defeated while representing Team England on their way to winning Commonwealth Games silver two summers ago, on Monday evening at 7:20pm BST.
“We’ll prepare and obviously have one more match left, so we’ll give it our all,” Lane said. “We’ll focus on ourselves and on recovery for the rest of the day, preparing well for tomorrow.”
Monday’s schedule also features Team GB’s third and final badminton representative, Kirsty Gilmour, commencing her women’s singles campaign. The three-time Olympian, 30, will face Azerbaijan’s Keisha Fatimah Az Zahra at 7:30am, seeking a victory that would set up a decisive clash with China’s He Bingjiao the following day.
He Bingjiao, a two-time World Championship bronze medallist, began with a straightforward straight-games victory over Az Zahra in Sunday’s Group N opener.
