Gabby and Chris Adcock to miss All England Championships
BBC Sport
Gabby Adcock says the "horrendous" long-term effects of coronavirus have left her with no choice but to miss the All England Badminton Championships.
Adcock, 30, first became ill at Christmas but the impact of "long Covid" left her weak, unable to exercise properly and "exhausted".
She told BBC Sport she is not ready to compete with husband Chris at the five-day event in Birmingham from Wednesday.
"I don't want to step on court when I'm not conditioned to win," she said.
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
Full GB entrants list
Full GB entrants listSeeding in brackets
Men
singles
Toby Penty (Eng)
Women’s singles
Jordan Hart (Wal)/
Kirsty Gilmour (Sco)
Women’s doubles
Chloe Birch & Lauren
Smith (Eng) (7)/ Jessica Hopton & Jenny Moore (Eng)/ Annie Lado &
Victoria Williams (Eng)/ Julie MacPherson & Ciara Torrance (Sco)
Men’s doubles
Marcus Ellis & Chris
Langridge (Eng) (8), Callum Hemming & Steven Stallwood (Eng), Christopher
& Matthew Grimley (Sco), Ben Lane & Sean Vendy (Eng)
Mixed doubles
Callum Hemming &
Victoria Williams (Eng)/ Adam Hall & Julie MacPherson (Sco)/ Max Flynn & Jessica Pugh (Eng)/ Marcus Ellis &
Lauren Smith (Eng) (4)
Marcus Ellis and Lauren Smith will be targeting a strong run in the
mixed doubles having won their opening match. It’ll be a busy week for Ellis who is also playing in the men’s
doubles with Chris Langridge,
with whom he won Olympic bronze in Rio 2016.
From an International perspective, the
women’s event includes India’s
2019 World Champion superstar PV
Sindhu. The men’s title favourites will surely be last year’s champion and
Danish Olympic bronze medallist Viktor
Axelsen and current World
Champion Japan’s Kento Momota.
Also in action will be Anuoluwapo Juwon Opeyori from the unheralded badminton nation
of Nigeria. He is likely to be playing both men’s singles and doubles in Tokyo
later in the year.
The Lagos-born 23-year-old is desperate to battle the
legends he has spent years watching on YouTube and is simply delighted to
represent his country on the global stage. He will be playing in just the
doubles in Birmingham with countryman Godwin
Olofua.
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
How can I watch the All England Open Badminton Championships?
All times are GMT and subject to change
BBC Sport
BBC Sport brings you the oldest and most
prestigious tournament in badminton with 50 hours’ worth of coverage over five
days from Arena Birmingham - across the BBC Sport website, Red Button and BBC
iPlayer.
You will also be able to catch up on any of the
action for up to 30 days here.
Wednesday, 17 March
14:00-23:00 - BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website and app
Thursday, 18 March
10:00-20:00 - BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport
website and app plus Red Button (15:00-20:00)
Friday, 19 March
10:00-20:00 - BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website and app plus Red Button
(15:00-20:00)
Saturday, 20 March
10:00-20:00 - BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website and app plus Red Button
(15:00-20:00 & 17:15-20:00)
Sunday, 21 March
10:00-15:00 - BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport
website and app
How to get into badminton
Get Inspired
#GetInspired
Badminton is one of the most-played sports in
the United Kingdom, with more than a million of us taking to the court each
month - so, whether you want to play some casual rallies with a pal or have a
competitive game, badminton is for everyone.
It is an easy sport to pick up, most leisure
centres have courts and you can hire racquets and shuttlecocks.
Video caption: 'My late dad would be proud of me trying to be one of the best in the world''My late dad would be proud of me trying to be one of the best in the world'
Live Reporting
All times stated are UK
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images 
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images 
Video caption: 'My late dad would be proud of me trying to be one of the best in the world''My late dad would be proud of me trying to be one of the best in the world'
Latest PostGabby and Chris Adcock to miss All England Championships
BBC Sport
Gabby Adcock says the "horrendous" long-term effects of coronavirus have left her with no choice but to miss the All England Badminton Championships.
Adcock, 30, first became ill at Christmas but the impact of "long Covid" left her weak, unable to exercise properly and "exhausted".
She told BBC Sport she is not ready to compete with husband Chris at the five-day event in Birmingham from Wednesday.
"I don't want to step on court when I'm not conditioned to win," she said.
Full GB entrants list
Full GB entrants listSeeding in brackets
Men singles
Toby Penty (Eng)
Women’s singles
Jordan Hart (Wal)/ Kirsty Gilmour (Sco)
Women’s doubles
Chloe Birch & Lauren Smith (Eng) (7)/ Jessica Hopton & Jenny Moore (Eng)/ Annie Lado & Victoria Williams (Eng)/ Julie MacPherson & Ciara Torrance (Sco)
Men’s doubles
Marcus Ellis & Chris Langridge (Eng) (8), Callum Hemming & Steven Stallwood (Eng), Christopher & Matthew Grimley (Sco), Ben Lane & Sean Vendy (Eng)
Mixed doubles
Callum Hemming & Victoria Williams (Eng)/ Adam Hall & Julie MacPherson (Sco)/ Max Flynn & Jessica Pugh (Eng)/ Marcus Ellis & Lauren Smith (Eng) (4)
Who should I look out for?
England Badminton stars and husband and wife team Chris and Gabby Adcock have pulled out due to the effects of Long Covid on Gabby.
Marcus Ellis and Lauren Smith will be targeting a strong run in the mixed doubles having won their opening match. It’ll be a busy week for Ellis who is also playing in the men’s doubles with Chris Langridge, with whom he won Olympic bronze in Rio 2016.
From an International perspective, the women’s event includes India’s 2019 World Champion superstar PV Sindhu. The men’s title favourites will surely be last year’s champion and Danish Olympic bronze medallist Viktor Axelsen and current World Champion Japan’s Kento Momota.
Also in action will be Anuoluwapo Juwon Opeyori from the unheralded badminton nation of Nigeria. He is likely to be playing both men’s singles and doubles in Tokyo later in the year.
The Lagos-born 23-year-old is desperate to battle the legends he has spent years watching on YouTube and is simply delighted to represent his country on the global stage. He will be playing in just the doubles in Birmingham with countryman Godwin Olofua.
How can I watch the All England Open Badminton Championships?
All times are GMT and subject to change
BBC Sport
BBC Sport brings you the oldest and most prestigious tournament in badminton with 50 hours’ worth of coverage over five days from Arena Birmingham - across the BBC Sport website, Red Button and BBC iPlayer.
You will also be able to catch up on any of the action for up to 30 days here.
Wednesday, 17 March
14:00-23:00 - BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website and app
Thursday, 18 March
10:00-20:00 - BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website and app plus Red Button (15:00-20:00)
Friday, 19 March
10:00-20:00 - BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website and app plus Red Button (15:00-20:00)
Saturday, 20 March
10:00-20:00 - BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website and app plus Red Button (15:00-20:00 & 17:15-20:00)
Sunday, 21 March
10:00-15:00 - BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website and app
How to get into badminton
Get Inspired
#GetInspired
Badminton is one of the most-played sports in the United Kingdom, with more than a million of us taking to the court each month - so, whether you want to play some casual rallies with a pal or have a competitive game, badminton is for everyone.
It is an easy sport to pick up, most leisure centres have courts and you can hire racquets and shuttlecocks.
Visit these club locators in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, or contact your local leisure centre if you want to play casually.
Video content