Tuesday 10 February 2015 19:24, UK
England's Chris and Gabby Adcock have been handed difficult draws at the YONEX All England Open Badminton Championships.
The Adcocks, seeded sixth, open their home tournament against Indonesia's Markis Kido and Pia Zebadiah Bernadeth when the Superseries Premier tournament gets under way at the Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham next month.
However, a highly-anticipated Friday night quarter-final meeting against Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir, the Indonesian pair who have won the last three All England mixed doubles titles, is in the offing for the English national champions.
The Adcocks are attempting to become the first home winners since Nathan Robertson and Gail Emms in 2005, and the seeded clash would be a repeat of October's French Open final, when the Indonesians lifted the title in Paris.
In the men's singles, England No 1 Rajiv Ouseph has been handed a tough draw against Korea's Son Wan Ho, the third seed.
The pair's only previous meeting came in 2010 when the Englishman beat Ho on his way to the US Open title in Los Angeles.
Chen Long, the top seed and world champion, will play a qualifier in his opening match, while Lin Dan, China's Olympic champion, will face Hong Kong's Wei Nan.
Dan, the five-time champion, is seeded to meet Kidambi Srikanth, India's Commonwealth Games champion, in the last eight.
Fontaine Chapman, England women's No 1, faces fourth-seeded Sabrina Jaquet of Switzerland in the first round of qualifying.
If Chapman can come through her two qualifying matches, she will join Scotland's Kirsty Gilmour as the only British interest in the main draw.
In the main men's doubles draw, England's Matthew Nottingham and Harley Towler have been pitted against China's Fu Haifeng and the experienced Zhang Nan.
Andrew Ellis and Peter Mills are seeded second in the qualifying draw.
Sophie Brown and Kate Robertshaw, the world No 75 pairing, face China's No 8 seeds, Bao Yixin and Tang Yuanting, in their first round of the women's doubles.
Another new doubles pair, Heather Olver and Lauren Smith, also face a tricky route to the main draw. They meet French-Swiss pair, Audrey Fontaine and Jaquet, in the first round and will likely meet No 4 seeds, Indonesia's Suci Rizky Andini and Maretha Dea Giovani for a place in the draw proper.
Jenny Moore and Victoria Williams face Isabel Herttrich and Birgit Michels in qualifying.
Meanwhile, four home pairs will be vying for a place alongside the Adcocks in the main mixed doubles draw, including Towler and Emily Westwood.
The YONEX All England will be played at the Birmingham’s Barclaycard Arena from March 3-9
