HOT-SHOT EVANS BIDS TO GO ONE BETTER AT BALDOLE
(Independent.ie)

SCOTT EVANS heads into the Yonex Irish International Badminton Championship gunning to progress one step further than he did last year when he lost in the final to England's world No 58 Rajiv Ouseph.

Evans received a timely boost for the Baldoyle event, which gets under way today, by reaching the semi-finals of the recent Scottish Open.

And failing to advance past the last four was no disgrace as the 20-year-old Dubliner was paired against Germany's Marc Zweibler, the player he lost to in last year's Beijing Olympics.

However, if Evans is to repeat last year's achievement at the north Dublin venue, he will have to produce a series of five-star performances.

In his opening contest, Evans takes on Sweden's 87-ranked Mathias Wigardt, and the Irish player faces a possible clash against the top seed, Poland's Przemyslaw Wacha, in the quarter-finals.

In the women's competition, Evans' fellow Olympian Chloe Evans carries the main home hopes, and the Donegal native will take encouragement from her quarter-final participation in last week's Welsh Open.

Evans faces Wales' Sarah Thomas in her opening match. Ukraine's world No 29 Larisa Griga is the top seed followed by Scotland's 33-ranked Susan Egelstaff.

In the mixed competition, Ireland's brother-sister combination of Chloe and Sam Magee have a tough opening match against the No 4 seeds, Dave Khodabux and Samantha Barning, of the Netherlands.

In the Welsh Open, the Magees made it all the way to the semi-finals, and pushed their Russian opponents, Alexander Nikolaenko and Valeri Sorokina, to three sets.

Fifteen of the 23 competing Irish players will be in action in the qualifying round starting today.

As well as Evans and Chloe Magee in the singles events, and Chloe and Sam Magee in the mixed doubles, also through to the main draw stage are Sam Magee and Tony Stephenson in the men's doubles, and Laura Butler and Clare Flood, and Sinead Chambers and Emma Callow in the women's doubles.

The main draw starts tomorrow, the quarter-finals and semi-finals take place on Saturday, and the finals are scheduled for Sunday.

Meanwhile, Conor Niland is set to join Louk Sorensen in the top 300 of the ATP singles world rankings as a result of making the second round of this week's ATP Challenger Tour event in Russia. Niland collected eight ranking points by beating Serbia's David Savic, and is on course to clinch a place in the qualifying round of the Australian Open next month.