British pair in badminton medal hunt

Gail Emms and Nathan Robertson reached the semi-finals of the badminton mixed doubles with a straight-games 15-8 17-15 victory over Chinese pair Chen Qiqiu and Zhao Tinting in Athens today.

The British fourth seeds are now, at the very least, guaranteed a shot at the bronze medal and the chance to emulate Simon Archer and Joanne Goode’s achievement in this event at the Sydney Olympics four years ago.

They efficiently overcame the sixth-seeded Chinese in the first set and then regained their composure to win the second after being pinned back from 13-8 up.

“I felt we controlled the match until the very end when were leading 13-8 and a bit of tension came in,” said Robertson.

“We were 13-8 up and in such control but tension comes in. This is the Olympic Games, and you start thinking about the next round which is the biggest mistake you can make.

“When they start coming back a little bit of nerves come into it. We worked well together as a pair to come back and get composed when we let them have a game point.”