Badminton: NZ duo chasing Athens spot at Oceania champs

12.15pm

Doubles pair Dan Shirley and Sara Runesten-Petersen are out to snare an Olympics place at the Oceania badminton championships at Waitakere this week.

The tournament has two-star status which gives it international ranking points, something Shirley and Runesten-Petersen need desperately.

They need to take their current ranking of 20 up to 15 or 16 which would put them in good shape for the Olympics.

Badminton New Zealand would still need to nominate the pair and have the New Zealand Olympic Committee approve the nomination.

Shirley and Runesten-Petersen, who were ranked as high as sixth in the world in late 2002, need to win the final this week.

It will probably pit them against arch rival Australians Travis Denney and Kate Wilson-Smith who are ranked 15th.

Shirley, 24, and Runesten-Petersen, 28, have beaten Denney and Wilson-Smith six times out of their past seven clashes.

The Oceania teams event gets under way tomorrow with the big clash, New Zealand against Australia, on Thursday followed by the individual championships from Friday until Sunday.

- NZPA