PBL 2018: Gabrielle Adcock likely to have surgery on injured ankle

chris gabrielle adcock
Chris Adcock tries to comfort Gabrielle after the injury

What’s the story?

The Chennai Smashers’ mixed doubles star Gabrielle Adcock, who suffered a horrific ankle injury during the Premier Badminton League (PBL) 2018, is likely to have surgery on returning home. It has been learnt that the English star most probably tore her tendon during the unfortunate incident that happened in the Smashers’ clash against the Delhi Dashers in Lucknow on January 3.

In case you didn’t know..

Chris and Gabrielle Adcock are an accomplished mixed doubles duo, currently ranked fifth in the world. They are the reigning Commonwealth Games champions as well as the European champions. They also grabbed a bronze medal at the World Championships in 2017.

The heart of the matter

The Smashers, who are the defending champions, went on to lose that tie 0-3 to the Delhi franchise after the Chennai duo of Chris and Gabrielle Adcock had to concede the mixed doubles match.

The Adcocks were given the responsibility of Chennai’s Trump Match in that fixture. After PV Sindhu’s defeat to Sung Ji Hyun earlier in women’s singles, a lot depended on the outcome of the mixed doubles.

The Adcocks began the match in scintillating fashion against the lethal Delhi duo of Ashwini Ponnappa and Vladimir Ivanov and set up an early lead of 3-1. The Delhi pair too came back and levelled the score at 5-5.

It was while the Chennai pair was trailing at 5-6 that the accident happened on the court. In an effort to retrieve the shuttle, Gabrielle Adcock tripped on her husband Chris’ foot and rolled her ankle, rendering herself unable to play even a single point after that.

Grimacing in pain, the English shuttler sat on the court and had to be treated immediately, while the match came to a very sad end for the 2017 champions.

Adcock made a post on her Twitter account before flying back home, where she thanked everybody for the support and expressed her regret at not being able to contribute any further to the Chennai Smashers’ journey at the PBL 2018.

In her absence, PV Sindhu took the court in mixed doubles in the remaining two ties of the Chennai Smashers.

What’s next?

The 27-year-old has returned to the UK to consult doctors and assess all options in an attempt to make a successful recovery before joining the circuit.

Author’s take

It was very painful seeing what happened to Adcock on the court. The timing of her injury is especially most unfortunate as a whole new season is ahead of her.

Let us hope that Adcock recovers fully and gets back to her competitive best as soon as possible.

Quick Links

Edited by Sudeshna Banerjee