SHE’S HAD TO SWEAT a bit, but Chloe Magee now looks assured of a place at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.
Last night, Magee bowed out of the women’s singles competition at the European Badminton Championships in France after going down 21-11, 21-7 to Danish third seed Line Kjaersfeldt in a match that lasted just over half-an-hour.
[adrotate group=”37″]This week, at La Roche-sur-Yon in France, Magee had already beaten Chloe Birch of England 21-19, 18-21, 21-12 and Portugal’s Telma Santos 21-8, 21-9 to move into a third round meeting with Kjaersfeldt.
And although Magee lost to the Dane, her previous wins ensured that she has climbed far enough up the rankings to get a spot on the plane to Brazil this summer.
The sweat won’t be over until the BWF World Rankings list is officially published next Thursday, May 5.
The win over Santos elevated her way above the Portuguese in the BWF World Rankings – far enough to book a ticket to the Olympics. 38 players will compete in the women’s singles in Rio.
Magee is now set to become the first Donegal sportsperson to compete at three Olympic Games having participated in Beijing 2008 and in London 2012.
Magee seems to have edged out Estonian Kati Tolmoff for a place in Brazil. In Beijing eight years ago, Magee actually played, and beat Tolmoff in the Raphoe woman’s first venture at the Olympics.
Magee and her brother, Sam, play for a medal today at the European Championships with a clash against eighth seeds, Niclas Nohr and Sara Thygesen from Denmark.
