South African Pre Games Preparation Camp in Ireland

A South African badminton team of four has arrived in Lisburn to fine tune their preparations for the London Olympics.

Michelle Edwards, who is competing in her third Olympics, and Dorian James, who made the team for Athens, will compete in the women's doubles, while the brother-sister combination of Willem and Annari Viljoen make their Olympic debut in the mixed doubles. Both teams are ranked inside the world top 50 and qualified from Africa to play in the Thomas and Uber Cups last month in China. Supervising their training is national coach/manager Stewart Carson, a veteran of the Athens Olympics.

After training in Lisburn Rackets Club for four days with local players, the team will re-join the South African squad for the London 2012 opening ceremony next week. The draw for the badminton tournament takes place on Sunday next July 22.