Quarter Final woes for English Badminton

Britain suffered disappointment at the Badminton World Championships in Kuala Lumpur, with all the remaining competitors falling at the Quarter-final stage.

Defending World champions Nathan Robertson and Gail Emms were beaten in the quarter finals by Indonesia's sixth seeds Flandy Limpele and Vita Marissa. The Olympic silver and Commonwealth gold medallists (seeded fourth), lost 21-13 21-16.

Fifth seeds Anthony Clark and Donna Kellogg, runners-up to Robertson and Emms in Madrid last September, lost 21-13 21-10 to third seeds Xie Zhongbo and Zhang Yawen.

England won a gold and two silvers at Madrid last year but now their medal hopes rested with Tracey Hallam in the women's singles and Emms and Kellogg in the women's doubles.

Tracey Hallam, the women's singles Commonwealth champion and 16th seed faced the Olympic gold medallist and top seed Zhang Ning. The she lost to the Chinese star at the same stage last year. And it was an action replay as the 32-year-old left-hander went down 21-11 2-9.

In the Women's doubles, Emms and Kellogg, the European champions and fifth seeds, were kept waiting till late into the evening before facing second seeds Gao Ling and Huang Sui. The brave fight ended in a 21-15 12-21 21-17 defeat, following a controversial point deduction for the english pair when the score was 18-17 n the final set.

England weren't alone in disappointment, in a worrying trend with the for the Olympics, not a single European qualified for the semi-finals.

The Medal matches for the Women's Doubles is on the 15th August.