BADMINTON Yonex Ireland International, Lisburn 6th-9th December

Emma Calow was the only Irish player to get through the opening qualifying rounds and she will join another Ulster Teenager, Chloe Magee, in the first round proper of the Women’s Singles. Chloe is chasing World Ranking Points to boost her Beijing Olympic Qualification Campaign and she opens with a tough match against the Number 8 Seed, Anna Mouri of Portugal.

In the Men’s Singles, Ulster’s Andrew Shannon reached the third qualification round but lost out to Harry Wright of England so Scott Evans will be the only Irish player and he is seeded at Number 4 with an opening match against Jeff Tho of Australia.

Ireland’s Magee and Huang Bing are seeded at Number 3 in the Women’s Doubles and are due on court on Friday evening with a first round match against Emman Wengberg and Jennie Carlsson of Sweden.

Friday is the busiest day of the competition for the 195 players from thirty-eight countries with a 10.am start and 10pm finish. Saturday will feature the Quarter and Semi-Finals in all events except the Men’s Semi-Finals, which will be held on Sunday Morning at 10am, with the Finals starting at noon.

For Further Information: www.badmintonireland.com