It is with great sadness that BADMINTON England today announces the sudden death of its chairman, Mike Sertin.

BADMINTON England Chief Executive Adrian Christy said: "It is a terrible shock, made worse by the fact that it comes right in the middle of the Yonex All England 100th Championships, an event in which Mike has been such a driving force.

"He was pivotal in the organising of our 100th Championships and was so passionate and enthusiastic about the celebrations we have been planning.

“His enthusiasm has rubbed off on everyone and he was particularly keen to bring back many of our great past winners to this week's Championships. We want the rest of this week to be a fitting memory to Mike.

"But right now our thoughts are with his wife, Catherine, and his son, James."

BADMINTON England President John Havers said: “He will be sadly missed. In his first term as Chairman, his acute business brain has been instrumental in moving the Association forward commercially.

“But, more than that, he was also a very good friend. He and his family were badminton through and through and this reflected in all the good work he did for BADMINTON England. For that I thank him.”

Mike, who was also chairman of Somerset as well as BADMINTON England, has helped steer the National Governing Body through big changes during his term of office. He was a forward thinker and was always looking for improve the profile of events and tournaments. Mike, 66, will be greatly missed by everyone within the world of sport.