Mixed win boost for Olympics

CHINA-BORN shuttlers Tim He Yiming and Chan Oi-ni boosted their chances of qualifying for next year's Atlanta Olympic Games by clinching their second international mixed title in New Zealand yesterday.

He and Chan, who only joined forces earlier this year, won the mixed event at the Australian Open last week and they added to that success by beating Paul Stevenson and Amanda Hardy of Australia in straight sets.

Their achievements lifted national coach Chan Chi-choi's hopes of seeing Hong Kong colours flying high in the badminton arena in Atlanta next summer.

Coach Chan had earlier expressed concern that it would be difficult for Hong Kong to qualify for the Atlanta Games in July following the retirement of several key players in the past two years.

'Tim and Chan Oi-ni have developed a very quick understanding between themselves and are showing surprisingly good teamwork despite playing together for only a few months,' a delighted Chan said.

'They showed early signs of developing into a very good team when they made the last 16 at the World Championships and then reaching the quarter-finals at the Singapore Open.

'Now coming away with both the Australian Open and New Zealand Open titles, I am pretty confident they can make it to Atlanta if they keep up their good form.' The mixed pairing are 25th in the world, but they are expected to break into the top 20 when the next ranking list comes out.