Susan Egelstaff fails to progress in Olympic badminton tournament

Susan Egelstaff has lost the opportunity to fight for a medal in the Olympic badminton tournament after losing 2-1 to Japan's Sayaka Sato.

Sato, who is ranked 16 in the world, started better on the court by comitting a number of spinning net shots, which Egelstaff failed to overcome by hitting shots too hard out of the boundaries.

The Brit did, however, launch a comeback after the mid-game interval following a decisive counter attack to take the score level at 7-7 and then went on to take the lead for the first time in the contest at 10-7.

Egelstaff began to dip slightly as her Japanese opponent found her feet to put pressure on the Brit by edging closer at 12-15 in the first set after slamming her shot into the net, which trickled over and caught Egelstaff unawares.

Despite a brief stumble, Egelstaff managed to up her game and snatch the first set 18-21.

Sato recovered well in the second set and managed to take an 11-6 lead at the mid-game interval, which proved vital as she went on to level the overall scoreline with a 21-16 triumph.

The deciding set proved to be the undoing of Egelstaff, who looked fatigue towards the closing stages, which allowed Sayake to wrap up the contest 21-12.

Share this article:
Subscribe to our newsletter

Get FREE daily news and in-depth previews for games from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football — straight to your inbox.

Subscribe