IT'S A 'WAIT-AND-SEE' GAME

Hee-Tan lose direct spot for Paris 2024, but could become first reserve pairing

- Deepanraj Ganesan

For 34 minutes, Terry Hee and Jessica Tan tried to match the intensity of their world No. 1 opponents Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong.

But their efforts were in vain.

Amid a flurry of rallies and smashes, the Singapore pair not only fell 21-11, 21-11 to the home favourites in the round of 16 of the Badminton Asia Championships in China on April 11, but also lost their chance of clinching a direct spot for the Paris Olympics.

Hee and Tan, who are 19th in the world, had to extend their stay in the competition at Ningbo Olympic Sports Centre to earn enough points to climb up the rankings for a ticket to Paris.

There are only 16 slots for the doubles at the Games, compared to 38 entries for the singles.

The first 13 eligible pairs are allocated slots via the Race to Paris rankings, which tabulate their points during the qualification window from May 1, 2023 to April 28, 2024.

The remaining three spots are given to the continental champions of America, Africa and Oceania.