Ravenshead pair Chris & Gabby Adcock top seeds at National Championships

England's Olympic hopefuls will be out in force at the 2016 English National Championships in Derby early next month after the seedings were released today.
Chris Adcock - Picture by Badminton Photo.Chris Adcock - Picture by Badminton Photo.
Chris Adcock - Picture by Badminton Photo.

Ravenshead’s Chris and Gabby Adcock - the latter chasing her ninth doubles title over a lengthy career - are number one seeds in the mixed doubles ahead of Matthew Nottingham and Emily Westwood.

Rajiv Ouseph, who moved a step closer to Darren Hall’s all time record of 10 national singles titles with his seventh success in 2014, is back as top seed after missing last year’s Championships.

In a strong-looking draw, the Middlesex and England number one will vye for the title alongside second seed Toby Penty and Sam Parsons, the defending champion.

Fontaine Chapman, runner-up to Nicola Cerfontyne last year, is top seed in the women’s singles.

Meanwhile, the doubles events will see the three defending champions return as top seeds.

Marcus Ellis and Chris Langridge head the entries in the men’s doubles, while Heather Olver and Lauren Smith are top seeds in the women’s doubles.

Smith is aiming for her fourth back-to-back national title and her second with Olver.

The Championships will be held at the £10 million University of Derby Sports Centre from February 5-7 and will kick start a frenetic period for England’s elite as they aim to cement berths at the Rio 2016 Olympics.