LEE Chong Wei will be the only Malaysian player seeded in the London Olympics on July 27-Aug 12 after maintaining his No 1 spot in the world rankings which were released by Badminton World Federation (BWF) yesterday.
But there was disappointment for women's doubles Wong Pei Tty-Chin Eei Hui who failed to qualify for the major event.
Chong Wei, despite his defeat to Shon Wan Ho of South Korea in the India Open final on Sunday, remained as the No 1 while his nemesis Lin Dan of China will be the second seed, thus avoiding the Olympic champion until the final in London.
The Malaysian will either meet World No 3 Chen Long or World No 4 Chen Jin in the expected semi-final clash as the China duo will be seeded joint third.
The other Malaysians who have qualified for the Olympics are men's doubles Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong, ranked World No 8, mixed doubles Chan Peng-Goh Liu Ying (No 9) and women's singles Tee Jing Yi who made it although she was only ranked No 59.
Pei Tty-Eei Hui are the first reserves in the women's doubles and can qualify if one of the 16 pairs withdraw from the Olympics due to injury or illness or their National Olympic Council (NOC) rejects the invitation from BWF to compete in London.
Pei Tty-Eei Hui lost out to Canada's Alex Bruce-Michelle Lee (No 28), Leanne Choo-Renuga Veeran of Australia (No 35) and Michelle Claire Edwards-Annari Viljoen of South Africa (No 44) who earned their spots as the continental representatives of Pan America, Oceania and South Africa respectively.
Jung Kyung Eun-Kim Ha Na won the India Open and broke into the top eight, earning South Korea's second Olympic berth in the women's doubles and ending Pei Tty-Eei Hui chances.
The veteran pair had stated early this year they would retire from international competitions if they fail to qualify for the Olympics but Eei Hui wants the ongoing Malaysia Open grand prix gold conclude first before making a final decision next week.
"We are sad but we take the situation in our stride. A string of poor results at the end of last year made our situation difficult and the last straw was Kyung Eun-Ha Na beating Bao Yixin-Zhong Qianxin (of China) in the India Open final," said Eei Hui.
"Had Yixin-Qianxin won, we could have qualified as Kyung Eun-Ha Na wouldn't have made it to the top eight and secure South Korea's second berth.
"There is a very slim chance as the first reserve but everyone wants to play in the Olympics and I don't see any pair withdrawing.
"We will make a decision after speaking to BAM whether to continue playing or retiring from the international scene next week. We want to focus on the Malaysia Open GP gold first."
BAM is also caught in an embarrassing situation as Michelle and Renuga are Malaysia-born have played in tournaments in their junior days here. In fact, Renuga have ben the national junior champion on a couple of occasions before moving to Australia to further her studies and eventually deciding to play for Australia.
Better planning could have seen either Pei Tty-Eei Hui or Vivian Hoo-Woon Khe Wei, ranked World No 23, could have comfortably earned the right to play in the Olympics.
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