A tough day in Hong Kong leaves only two Europeans in contention for medals, as narrow defeats meant others fell just short.

Lane/Vendy pushed to the limit
The clearest example of how close it came was in men’s doubles, where Ben Lane/Sean Vendy faced Chen Cheng Kuan/Lin Bing-Wei. The match went the distance, with all three games extremely tight. In the decider, the English pair saved six match points and had four of their own, before the score reached 29-29. In the final rally, the Chinese Taipei pair saw the final shuttle drift long, giving them the win. Both players dropped to their knees in jubilation after a rare 30-29 victory in the final game.

Christo Popov, Toft/Magelund with safe victories
In men’s singles, Christo Popov took on Malaysia’s Sholeh Aidil, ranked 43 in the world. It was their first-ever meeting, and the Frenchman controlled the match from start to finish despite Aidil’s attempts to fight back. Popov closed it out 21-17 21-19. He now faces former world champion Loh Kean Yew in the quarterfinals. The head-to-head between the two is tied at 3-3, setting up what promises to be a thrilling encounter tomorrow.

In mixed doubles, Jesper Toft/Amalie Magelund played local pair Hung Kuei Chun/Tsang Hiu Yan, who had come through qualification. Ranked 202 in the world, the home side was no match for the Danes, who eased through 21-9 21-11 to reach the quarterfinals. The win brings them one step closer to a potential medal at this Super 500 tournament.

For all of today’s results, click here. To see tomorrow’s matches, click here.