Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian top women’s doubles pair Vivian Hoo-Woon Khe Wei’s road to Rio just got a little steeper.
Badly miscalculated by the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM), the mistake could cost the World No. 14th Hoo/Woon a place in the last 16 when the Olympic qualifying period ends on May 1st.
“I’ve made a mistake in terms of Vivian and Khe Wei. I pulled them out of the All-England and put them in the Polish and French (Orleans) opens,” said BAM technical director Morten Frost-Hansen.
“I was not aware that we cannot withdraw and enter other tournaments in the same week. This was my first mistake after 13 months I have been here,” added the 58-year-old Dane.
To make matters worse, Vivian Hoo-Woon Khe Wei were omitted from the Singapore Open to be held from April 12-17, which means their chances of collecting points for the Olympics has gone down the drain.
Series of sloppy mistakes have left Vivian Hoo Kah Mun/Woon Khe Wei with no choice but to put up strong performances in their next three major tournaments to boost their hopes for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games before May 1st.
They will kick off their Malaysia Open challenge by playing Isabel Herttrich/Birgit Michels of Germany on Wednesday, and will likely face No. 3 seeds Misaki Matsutomo/Ayaka Takahashi of Japan in the second round.
In addition to Malaysia Open, they will also take part in the China Masters (April 19-24) and Badminton Asia Championships (BAC) in Wuhan, China, from April 26 to May 1.
Realistically, Hoo/Woon’s World No. 14th ranking is under threat from women’s doubles pairs ranked immediately below them since all of them have registered to play in the Singapore Open.
