Chris Adcock (Notts) and Andrew Ellis (Yorks) came agonisingly close to winning their first title together at the Bitburger Open in Saarbrucken yesterday (Sun).

The England pair, who were seventh seeds, took on Indian top seeds Rupesh Kumar and Sanave Thomas in the final and, in the closest of contests, were edged out 17-21 22-20 24-22 despite having match points in the second and third games.

It was the longest doubles match of the tournament, lasting 67 minutes, and the second longest contest of the championship.

England doubles coach Tan Kim Her said: "It was the first time Adcock and Ellis had played together in a tournament.

"They had chances to win but were not steady enough when they had the opportunity to finish the match.

"But it is a good learning experience for them as the Indian pair were good defensively."