YONEX All England 2023: Ben Lane builds on important experiences

Ben Lane knows as well as anyone about the value of experience. The 25-year-old and doubles partner Sean Vendy are no strangers to the YONEX All England Open, with 2023 set to be their fourth straight appearance at the showpiece event in Birmingham.

Ad The 2022 edition saw the duo claim a special first All England win, but they suffered a stinging second round defeat to third seeds Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi — in which they led 19-15 in the deciding game. BadmintonYONEX All England 2023: Vendy hoping to build on key learnings6 MINUTES AGO But while many would have failed to rebound from such a loss it instead spurred Lane and Vendy onto career best form, reaching an all-time high of 13th in the world rankings and beating several of the world's best pairings — alongside winning Commonwealth silver in Birmingham.

«After every tournament we sit down and reflect after a few days,» commented Lane. «Last year was a great year for us and you always learn a lot from losing — and it hurts to lose at one of the most important tournaments of the year — but hopefully that defeat gave us valuable experience for this year and the coming tournament.

»We had a great last six months in 2022. We really feel like our games have improved a lot over the last couple of years, but I think that's down to the work that we put in every day — if you put the work in every day, the results will follow." Years of playing together and riding the highs and lows of professional sport have seen the duo develop a strong bond, something Lane believes is key.

He added: «We're great friends off the court and we set very similar goals and ambitions which is great in a partnership, because we're both working towards the same thing. »I think in terms of a