Indonesia’s mixed doubles pair of Hafiz Faizal and Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja is on a mission to gain as many points as possible, especially because some other tournaments prior to the Birmingham tournament, like the German Open, were cancelled because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Hafiz and Gloria currently sit in 8^th place in the Race to Tokyo ranking. Their position is not safe yet, as their lead in points over other pairs, such as Malaysia’s Goh Soon Huat and Shevon Jemie Lai and Hong Kong’s Tang Yung Man and Tse Ying Suet, is narrowing.

Indonesian mixed doubles coach Richard Mainaky explained where the bar was for Hafiz and Gloria at the All England to keep their Olympic hopes alive:

“Hafiz and Gloria should at least reach the quarterfinals so they are not thrown out of the top eight. They already lost [the chance of playing at] the German Open, so quarterfinals is a must to save their position,” he said in a statement quoted by www.badmintonindonesia.org.

However, the Indonesian duo faces an uphill battle as it will take on Chris Adcock and Gabrielle Adcock of the host country in the first round. The British are also vying for the Olympic spot.

Sitting in 12^th position, the Adcocks are just one place behind their compatriots Marcus Ellis and Lauren Smith for the ticket to the Tokyo Games. The Olympic rules stipulate that a country can only send one pair to Tokyo unless its pairs are in the top eight of the qualification ranking.

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