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Badminton News: As the qualification window for the Paris Olympics enters its final month, there is at least one race that will end in a photo. That contest will feature Annie Xu/Kerry Xu of the United States and Catherine Choi/Josephine Wu of Canada, both battling for the Pan American women’s doubles spot.

The Xu twins currently lead the Race to Paris, but recently ranked 32nd, they trail their Pan American competitors by a slim 172-point margin. The spot will likely be determined at the 2024 YONEX Pan American Individual Championships in Guatemala next week, where the Canadian pair are the top seeds and the American pair are second.

Considering how well the Xu sisters have performed so far, it was incredible how humble they were. The Xu family’s journey, like that of all self-funded athletes, has been an expensive affair, with the twins playing 23 games last year and 10 games so far this year, supported by family and friends.

“We both worked in corporate accounting for a year, which allowed us to save some funds,” Annie Xu said.

“Also, sponsors are hard to come by in America and you have to have the right connections. Most of our contests are funded by our savings or by help from our parents, friends and family. We created a GoFundMe and we got some funding through that. Usually, we don’t have enough savings, so it’s our parents who support us.”

During the Olympic qualifying period, they reached the finals of four Challenge/International Series events, won the 2023 Peru Challenge and helped the Americans reach the final of the M&F Badminton Pan American Cup.

With 40,827 points, they are the highest-ranked Pan-American duo, ahead of Canadian duo Choi/Wu (No. 34) and American duo Francesca Corbett/Allison Lee (No. 38) and Paula Lynn Cao Hok/Lauren Lam (No. 40).

Although relatively new to the World Tour, they have enjoyed reasonable success this year, beating Margot Lambert/Anne Tran at the 2024 PETRONAS Malaysia Open and Treesa Jolly/Gayatri Gopichand Pullela at the 2024 YONEX Spain Masters.

They’re almost the best. Yuki Fukushima/Sayaka Hirota at the YONEX French Open, with three match points against the world No. 8 pair before Japan pulled themselves out of their predicament. The YONEX All England may have been a precursor to what could happen at the Pan American Championships when they faced Catherine Choi/Josephine Wu in the first round, a match the Canadians needed to win to keep the Xu sisters in sight.

Even though both American men lost the match in three games, their defeat was philosophical.

“It was a tough physical and mental struggle, with the Olympic qualifiers almost over,” Kerry Xu said.

“It’s only a month away, the pressure is very high, so learn to manage it and also try not to let it get to you when you play. It’s something we’re still trying to work on. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the results we were hoping for… at least we gave it our best.

“It didn’t feel like the first round, because they’re usually Pan American semifinals or finals,” his sister said.

“We came in nervous because playing against our main competitors for an Olympic spot was quite nerve-wracking for us, and there was a lot of pressure behind it. Whereas in the other first rounds, I just wanted to play the best I could, trying to get to the next level. But we went into this match with the belief that we really wanted to win. Not just for our sake, but also for our families and everyone who supports us.

With such a slim lead, the sisters were trying not to get ahead. Olympic spots are hard-won.

“In January, during the Asia tour, we did well; “So far, we are satisfied with our performance,” Kerry Xu said.

“When it comes to excellence, we try not to think about it too much, because we don’t want to put pressure on ourselves. We are happy to now have a Pan-American continental zone; I hope we maintain it.

Article Keywords: Annie Xu, Kerry Xu, United States, Paris 2024 Olympics

Published by Ligaolahraga.com on https://www.ligaolahraga.com/badminton/si-kembar-america-bersaing-dengan-kanada-dalam-perebutan-kursi-olimpiade