New Zealand mixed doubles badminton pairing Dan Shirley and Sara Runesten Petersen suffered the consequences of a bad draw in the US$250,000 ($413,428) Hong Kong Open last night.
They had the misfortune to draw South Korea's world No 3 combination of Yong Hyun Kim and Hvo Juna Lee in the first
round.
The New Zealanders predictably went down 10-15 10-15 to make an early exit from the first of three tournaments they are contesting in this section of their Olympic qualification programme.
They have been favoured with a better draw in Chinese Taipei next week and were expected to win through to the second round before meeting the same Korean pairing.
The final tournament will be the China Open in a fortnight.
Shirley and Runesten Petersen, ranked 17th in the world, must at least retain that ranking to qualify for next year's Olympic Games in Athens.
- NZPA
