Badminton England set for start of key season with Japan internationals

England’s two-match series with Japan, starting this week, launches an important few months for the national side after the eight-man squad pulled out of the World Championships in Hyderabad, India two months ago.

The opening match will be at the University of Bath on Friday with the second at the Loughborough University on Saturday evening, which will be a prelude to the 100th All England Open Championships in March and the European Individual Championships the following month.

It will be the first time either venue has staged an international badminton match although the City of Bath hosted a match against China in 1999 with England losing 3-2 at Bath Sports and Leisure Centre.

Japan last toured England in November 2000 when the hosts won a six-match series 5-1. The wins came at Guernsey (4-1), Boston (5-0), Huddersfield (4-1), Wigan (4-1) and North Shields (4-1) with the only defeat at Stevenage (4-1) in the final match.

The previous Japan visit was in 1998 when England won 3-2 at both Bath and Boston. However the last time the two nations played was in the Sudirman Cup in May in Guangzhou, China, when they scored a resounding 4-1 during a campaign which marked doubles stars Nathan Robertson’s 100th appearance and Robert Blair’s 50th England appearance.

The Japan matches will offer the first opportunity for badminton fans to see Robertson in action at home since reaching his milestone cap. He is likely to feature in the men’s doubles in at least one match with partner Anthony Clark with whom he had success at the Singapore Open in June when they became England’s first Super Series winners. It was the first win by a British pair since 2006.

Derbyshire pair Clark and Donna Kellogg, the European mixed doubles champions who will be defending their title in Manchester in April, will be the No 1 pairing for the mixed doubles and both players will be looking to follow Robertson to 100 caps. Clark, who lives just 10 miles from the Loughborough venue at Ellistown, has so far won 91 caps and Kellogg 87.

The squad, supported by Center Parcs, is also likely to feature Rajiv Ouseph (Middx), who has joined Andrew Smith (Hants) in the world’s top 30 in the men’s singles, and promising doubles players Chris Adcock (Notts), Gabby White (Yorks) and Jenny Wallwork (Yorks).

Adcock and White and White and Wallwork are both in the world top 25 in their respective doubles events.

England will be led by Performance Director Ian Moss, who is taking charge for the first time in a home fixture. He said: “I am looking forward to leading Team England for the first time at home and I am pleased that we are going to two venues that are so important with the training of our emerging squad members.”