Wedded bliss puts Brits on course for Rio

Badminton golden couple Chris and Gabrielle Adcock are hoping their synchronicity on and off court can help lead them to mixed doubles gold at the Rio Olympics.

The British married pair, ranked seventh in the world, told AFP that with no mixed doubles team currently dominant, the event will be wide open in Rio.

"We want a medal, same as everybody else. In the mixed doubles, it’s very open right now, lots of winners over the last four or five Superseries tournaments," said Chris, 26, at the Singapore Open.

Gabrielle, 25, added: "It’s amazing that we can get medals for Britain in mixed doubles, but I’ve got my own motivation goals and I just want a medal myself.

"It’s very exciting times and we're still so young. We’ve got a long, long time left in the game."

The Adcocks have known each other since they were children competing on the national age group circuit, but their biggest successes have come after they married in 2013.

They won the Hong Kong Open just two months after tying the knot, followed by the Commonwealth Games gold in 2014.
They were also the first Britons to win a title at the badminton tour's year-end event, the Super Series finals, last December in Dubai.

Chris competed at the London Olympics in 2012 but with a different partner -- Scottish shuttler Imogen Bankier -- and the pair crashed out in the first round.

"Of course, we’re better now than we were before we were married but that’s because we’ve had another two years of playing badminton, improving, training hard and playing tournaments together," Chris said.

"I don’t think (getting married has) got us any better, we're just more experienced."

He added: "We’ve already proven that we’re one of the world’s best by winning Superseries events and being (in) the top eight in the world for three years straight."

The Adcocks are not the only couple to find love on the badminton court.

Chinese star Lin Dan married former world champion Xie Xingfang in 2012, after he successfully defended his Olympic title in London.

Britain's Adcocks say that while they have been successful on court, playing together also helps their marriage.

"We know each other so well so we can motivate each other. When you win, it’s great to share it with your wife," said Chris.

"It’s actually really good so we can be open and honest with each other. We’ve seen a lot of partnerships fail in the past because the communication is really bad," added Gabrielle.

She joked: "We generally believe it's a massive strength and recommend that everybody gets married if they want to play mixed doubles."
Source: AFP