Chris Langridge may be reeling from the disappointment of missing out on a shot at badminton gold at the Rio Olympics, but he still thinking of the bigger picture.

The 31-year-old from Epsom lost the men’s doubles semi-final with partner Marcus Ellis yesterday, going down 2-0 (21-14, 21-18) to Haifeng Fu and Nan Zhang of China.

The British duo can still win a medal when they face another Chinese partnership in Biao Chai and Wei Hong tomorrow (Thursday).

Langridge admitted they were beaten by the better players, but issued a rallying call to the people of Great Britain to pick up a badminton racket.

“We are frustrated because we gave everything and it’s hard when, unfortunately, your opponents are better,” he said.

“They didn’t let us play how we wanted to play. We’ve played them a few times before and our styles don’t really match up. I wouldn’t say we’re a million miles away from them but our styles don’t work for us.

“We have to do well to get people reporting on badminton, and we have done well at different times of the year.

“It’s so hard on a regular basis because we don’t have as many people playing.

“Our squad compared to some of the Asian squads may not even be a fifth of the size.”

He added: “I really want people to start playing, even if you don’t want to play professionally.

“It is a good game. The lad we played, Fu, has the hardest hit in the world – over 400kph – no wonder we were struggling to get it back.

“We just want more people to get involved and enjoy playing. Then, maybe in 12 years’ time, instead of me and Marcus losing out there, it may be another pair who are winning, and carrying the flag and doing all sorts.”