Hong Kong badminton stars handed tough opponents in Asia Mixed Team Championships
- City’s players to face Japan, Taiwan and Pakistan in Group D at Dubai tournament
- Only four top of 17 teams can qualify for Sudirman Cup in May, the first tournament offering Olympic ranking points
Hong Kong face a daunting task in this month’s Asia Mixed Team Championships, after being drawn in the same group as Japan, Taiwan and Pakistan.
The regional championship starts in Dubai in two weeks, and as well as regional pride at stake there are four spots at the first Olympic qualifier up for grabs.
With only the semi-finalists earning spots at May’s Sudirman Cup in Suzhou, China, the draw for the United Arab Emirates competition could cause problems for Hong Kong.
“The Sudirman Cup in May will be the first tournament that offers Olympic qualification points and if we can’t make it there, it will certainly affect our road to Paris 2024,” Tim He Yiming, Hong Kong’s head coach, said.
“Our players will then have to make extra effort in the remaining qualifying events to make up for the loss of not playing in the Sudirman Cup. That may give them a difficult start in the qualifiers.”
This month’s team event features five matches in a tie, two singles, men’s and women’s, two doubles and the mixed doubles.
