Cumbrian badminton star Lauren Smith and mixed doubles partner Marcus Ellis have surged into the Olympic quarter-finals after a clean sweep in the group stage.

Smith and Ellis recorded an impressive win over the fancied Thailand pair in their third match in Tokyo.

The British duo claimed an outstanding 21-12, 21-19 victory over Sapsiree Taerattaachai and Dechapol Puavaranukroh.

It saw Longtown's Smith, 29, and partner Ellis see off highly-ranked opponents to whom they had lost in their last four meetings.

Carlisle-born Smith, speaking after the Group B game, said: “It's definitely up there as a win in both of our careers.

“For us to beat them on this stage is really important. It makes a big difference going into the next rounds.

“We knew this was a freebie game after yesterday. It was ours to take, theirs to lose and that's something I kept reminding myself of through the game.

“It paid off and I'm really excited for another opportunity going forward now.”

Smith - competing in her second Olympics - and Ellis have kept alive the dream of emulating Athens 2004 stars Nathan Robertson and Gail Emms as Team GB Olympic medallists.

They had earlier seen off France’s Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue, and Canada’s Joshua Hurlburt-Yu and Josephine Wu, and can now look forward to a quarter-final clash on Wednesday.

Smith was back on court today in a must-win game in the women’s doubles with Chloe Birch.

But the British duo were beaten by Indonesia’s Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu, leaving Smith to focus on the mixed doubles as her remaining medal chance.

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