Defeated Hall fancies Olympic chances
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Badminton
Darren Hall toppled out of the All-England Championships at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham yesterday and then backed himself to capture Britain's first Olympic badminton medal.
The England No 1 from Chingford, Essex, brushed aside his second-round defeat by Indonesia's world champion, Heryanto Arbi, as he looked ahead to Atlanta.
"I really believe I can get a medal," said the former European champion. "I'm playing better now than I have done for two years."
Hall was seeded 15 at the All-England and believes he may squeeze into the Olympic seedings. "There are six Indonesians above me in the world rankings and only three of them can go to the Olympics. I have justified my seeding here, I don't see how I can drop down the list and I must have a chance of being seeded in Atlanta."
He looked nervous at the start, showed Arbi too much respect, and could not hope to recover from a 3-8 deficit. In the second game, Hall trailed 6-10 before producing his best spell to narrow the gap to 10-13. But then Arbi simply upped the tempo to polish him off.
Hall, beaten 15-10, 15-10 by Arbi, will probably line up for Britain in Atlanta alongside Kent's Peter Knowles, who withdrew from a first-round meeting with the ninth seed Fung Permadi yesterday through injury and then refused a medical check from the tournament doctor.
"The qualifying system definitely needs changing," added Hall, who has re-launched his career after recovering from back trouble.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments