Adcock Sets Sights on More Medal Success at London 2012

Not many people would have heard of Chris Adcock until a couple of weeks ago.

However, in a successful World Championships at Wembley in August, alongside partner Imogen Bankier, the pair finished the tournament as runners-up, claiming a silver medal. They have entered the media spotlight and have got people talking about badminton.

The Nottinghamshire player had headed straight back to the practice courts but reveals his recent success has made more people recognize him.

“Since winning the silver medal at the World Championships my sense of ‘normal’ has probably changed,” the 22-year-old reflects. “All the reactions I’ve had have been very positive.

“Imogen and myself got a great reaction from everyone at the tournament. Staff, players, friends and family were all congratulating us. It’s been a bit different with the media side of things, but it’s good to see badminton getting some more coverage in the press, it’s been really enjoyable and something I could get used to.”

Adcock has close family members to thank for getting him involved in the sport in the first place.

“I would have to say a big thank you to my two older brothers, “ he said. “They were always better than me. Matt was my oldest brother and he played for the county and to a national standard and my other brother Rob trained at Milton Keynes for three years and actually got into the top 20 in the world.

“It was always good for me to be younger than them when I was growing up because it obviously built up a competitive edge within me that carried on throughout my childhood.

“I couldn’t have had a more supportive family, my brothers and parents, everyone has really helped me and they live the sport through me now which is really nice feeling.”

Adcock and Bankiers’ silver medal at the World Championships was the first Great British success since the 2006 tournament in Madrid.

The pair have only came together as a partnership in the last 12 month. So, what has made them click so quickly?

“We get on very well both on and off the court,” Adcock continues. “We both have very similar goals, obviously that being the Olympics. We are both fighting to get there.

“I have said this a lot recently, but we both also make sure we enjoy what we do, we of course have to be very professional, but you only play you best when your enjoying it.

“I think our styles are very compatible and we got quite luck there but we’ve worked hard at it and what we seem to be doing seems to be working so we need to keep improving in what we’ve been doing well but also improve the areas where we’re not so strong.”

The Olympics is less than a year away now, but it is non-stop between now and 27th July for the world championship silver medalist.

“We are into Olympic qualifying now and that has been running since last May through to May 2012,” he said. “From now till then I think we’ve got another 14 tournaments before the main event in London next year.

“It is going to be a busy schedule because the qualification is quite tough. We have a bit of time off between before travelling to China and Japan for two more tournaments.

“We’ll both be hoping to continue the form and the style in which we played at Wembley and, hopefully, we can get that qualification place and get into the top 10 in the word.”

And what about adding an Olympic medal to the well earned World Championship silver?

“An Olympic medal has always been my aim,” Adcock proclaimed. “We have to take it in stages, we need to get there first and hopefully injuries and illness can stay away.

“We want to have a good run in at the tournaments just to get qualification because that’s hard and that is an achievement in itself. I think last week we proved that if you put yourself in the mix and you’re playing well you can do some damage there.

“The dream is that we will be standing on that podium again, hopefully one step higher.”

Center Parcs is an official partner of BADMINTON England and congratulates England player Chris Adcock on his recent World Badminton Championship silver medal. For more information visit www.centerparcs.co.uk

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