A brief article I wrote for my website about England rankings:
Here’s a look at how England currently fair in the world rankings.
Mens Singles
33. Rajiv Ouseph 76. Carl Baxter 133. Ben Beckham
The top 2 have been much higher but have spent most of this year at Superseries events and Worlds, and some tough first round draws have seen them plummet in the rankings. More and more countries compete for the top 50, but Denmark have 4 players above our number 1 and in total 6 in the top 50. As always toughest discipline to make progress in.
Ladies Singles
39. Liz Cann 101. Nicola Cerfontyne 123. Sarah Walker
A good first round win for Liz at the worlds but she will need to be back to her best form to have any chance of catching Susan Egelstaff (SCOT) in the olympic race. A lack of depth in womens singles has been a problem for England for years at all levels.
Mens Doubles
20. Adcock/Ellis 33. Ellis/Mills 34. Langridge /Clark
New pair Langridge/Clark still only have 9 events so whatever they do in their next event should see them overtake Ellis/Mills. The experienced Clark will be hoping to overtake the other pairs and make the olympics. Traditionally strong event for England but new pairs need time to climb rankings.
Womens Doubles
24. Agathangelou/Olver 32. Wallwork/White 63. Langley/Smith
Langley/Smith took advantage of their wildcard to reach second round of worlds and rocket up the rankings. As yet these womens pairs don’t seem able to match the Asian pairs, Japan is the new powerhouse of WD with 4 top 15 pairs.
Mixed Doubles
11. Robs/Wallwork 16. Adcock/Bankier 26. Blair/White
Always England’s strongest event, could be a close battle for the top spot after Adcock/Bankier’s terrific World Silver. Blair/White don’t seem to be on great form and were unable to play the worlds due to nationality issues but are also a world class pair on their day.
Overview
The current world rankings must represent a recent lowspot for England. However, I don’t think England are as far behind as the rankings suggest. Many singles players have been chasing the big points in the Superseries and Grand Prix, when the slightly lower European events come round they should win more matches.
Countries such as India, Spain, Germany, Japan, Singapore and Eastern Europe are pushing for the top where they haven’t regularly been in the past, making the task even tougher for anyone wanting to make it as a world class player.