Badminton: Singapore mixed doubles duo's Olympic hopes take a hit after S'pore Open loss

SINGAPORE - Singapore's badminton mixed doubles pair Danny Bawa Chrisnanta and Vanessa Neo's bid for Olympic qualification took a big hit on Tuesday, after they lost 12-21, 13-21 to the Netherlands' Jacco Arends and Selena Piek at the OUE Singapore Open at Singapore Indoor Stadium.

The loss is costly as they needed to chalk up precious ranking points before the Olympic qualification window closes on May 1 to overtake Thailand's Bodin Issara and Savitree Amitrapai (No. 17), the next higher-ranked Asian pair.

The tournament is the final Superseries event before the deadline.

Said Neo: "A lot of points are lost. Last week, we caught up but we lost again this week. So this week, we're back to square one."

A disappointed Chrisnanta added: "We prepared to do well at home, we did our best but this was the result. They played very well today. Both the front and back played solid today. They led the game all the way today so we were under pressure. I tried to fight but I couldn't."

While there was anguish for Christnanta and Neo, there was joy for the other Singaporean mixed doubles pair of Terry Hee and Tan Wei Han. The duo upset world No. 13 Choi Sol Gyu and Eom Hye Won of South Korea 21-19, 21-17 to move on to the second round on Thursday, where they will take on eighth seeds Lu Kai and Huang Yaqiong of China.

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.