Badminton England national coach Pete Jeffrey insists a semi-final appearance at the BWF Destination Dubai World Superseries Finals was still an achievement to be proud of for husband and wife pair Chris and Gabby Adcock.

England's number one mixed doubles pairing travelled to Dubai last week for the season-ending event looking to reach the last four for the first time.

Last year they finished third in the group, missing out on the semi-finals when they lost their deciding rubber.

And while losing their opening two matches of the 2014 event, the Adcocks won their crucial final group game against Germany’s Michael Fuchs and Birgit Michels before having a little luck from results elsewhere to creep through to the knock-out stages.

That result alone was impressive enough considering Gabby had been suffering from a chest infection during the tournament.

Another victory was just beyond them though, losing to China’s world number one pair Nan Zhang and Yunlei Zhao 21-9, 21-12, although the Glasgow 2014 mixed doubles champions still had something to celebrate, ending the year sixth in the world rankings.

Jeffrey said: “Gabby was really struggling with the chest infection and finding it hard to breathe on court.

"She has performed amazingly well this week, despite being ill, and I feel that just shows her character and her desire to reach the very top in her sport.

"Reaching the semi finals despite these challenges shows tremendous progression.

"Both Chris and Gabby have full belief that they can beat the Chinese again soon."

© Sportsbeat 2014