Tokyo Olympics: Frustrated Marcus Ellis and Lauren Smith left to regret the one that got away

MARCUS Ellis knows exactly what it takes to succeed at the Olympics so there was no hiding the disappointment at a quarter-final exit in the mixed doubles.
By Paul Eddison
Published 28th Jul 2021, 15:31 BST
DISAPPOINTED: Huddersfield's Marcus Ellis, right, looks dejected after he and Lauren Smith lose against Hong Kong's Tang Chun Man and Tse Ying Suet during a Mixed Doubles Quarter-final match at Musashino Forest Sport Plaza. Picture: Lintao Zhang/Getty ImagesDISAPPOINTED: Huddersfield's Marcus Ellis, right, looks dejected after he and Lauren Smith lose against Hong Kong's Tang Chun Man and Tse Ying Suet during a Mixed Doubles Quarter-final match at Musashino Forest Sport Plaza. Picture: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images
DISAPPOINTED: Huddersfield's Marcus Ellis, right, looks dejected after he and Lauren Smith lose against Hong Kong's Tang Chun Man and Tse Ying Suet during a Mixed Doubles Quarter-final match at Musashino Forest Sport Plaza. Picture: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images

Ellis and partner Lauren Smith had high hopes of adding to the 31-year-old’s bronze medal in Rio, won in the men’s doubles with Chris Langridge.

But the pair suffered a disappointing loss to Hong Kong duo Tang Chun Man and Tse Ying Suet, 21-13 21-18, ending their hopes of a medal.

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And Ellis found it hard to move past that disappointment in the immediate aftermath.

STRETCHING IT: Marcus Ellis, right, and Lauren Smith compete against Tang Chun Man and Tse Ying Suet of Team Hong Kong China at Musashino Forest Sport Plaza. Picture: Lintao Zhang/Getty ImagesSTRETCHING IT: Marcus Ellis, right, and Lauren Smith compete against Tang Chun Man and Tse Ying Suet of Team Hong Kong China at Musashino Forest Sport Plaza. Picture: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images
STRETCHING IT: Marcus Ellis, right, and Lauren Smith compete against Tang Chun Man and Tse Ying Suet of Team Hong Kong China at Musashino Forest Sport Plaza. Picture: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images

He said: “When we look back, I think we’ll be able to say that we had some very good performances. But I didn’t come here to lose in the quarter-finals. I’m not happy with losing at this stage.”

For Smith, in her first Games, there was certainly an element of frustration over losing to a pair who they beat the last time they met.

And she echoed Ellis’s disappointment at missing out on a medal.

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She said: “It was definitely an opportunity. We know we can beat them, we did last time but we know they’re a very good pair.

“I’m less gutted about the result and more about our performance. I don’t think we ever got the consistency, we didn’t quite nail the tactics that we like to and maybe we were off the speed of the game as well.

“To not quite do it on the day is very disappointing.”

n No one does more to support our Olympic and Paralympic athletes than National Lottery players, who raise around £36 million each week for good causes including elite and grassroots sport. Discover more about how playing The National Lottery supports Team GB’s athletes by visiting www.national-lottery.co.uk/tokyo2020 and get involved by using the hashtags: #TNLAthletes #MakeAmazingHappen

Related topics:Hong Kong

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