Chen Jin on course for Olympic berth

Qingdao (China), April 19 (IANS) Chinese shuttler Chen Jin still needs a good run to confirm his ticket to the London Olympic Games as he and Danish veteran Peter Gade both entered top eight in the men's singles at the Badminton Asia and European Championships here Thursday.

At the European Championships, Gade overcame Ville Lang of Finland and Valeriy Atrashchenkov of Ukraine in one day to reach the quarterfinals, while Chen swept past Japanese Kento Momota 21-10, 21-10.

Chen is currently ranked fifth in the world, but based on points collected during the Olympic period he is at No.4, ahead of Gade. Chen needs to secure the fourth place until the end of April to ensure his Olympic ticket.

Currently the gap of Olympic points between Chen and Gade is only 1,925. Gade has already booked an Olympic ticket for Denmark, but victories from European Championships and India Super series could help him surpass Chen in the Olympic ranking, demolishing Chen's hope to compete at the London Games.

"I didn't watch Gade's match, because I cannot control his result," said Chen, bronze medallist at Beijing Olympic Games.

The 26-year-old Chinese said: "In the final period of the qualification, the top priority is not technique, but mindset. I am trying to maintain a good mindset."

If Chen get the Olympic ticket, Chinese badminton team will wrap all Olympic spots on offer -- six singles and six doubles in five events.

Chen will face the winner between Nguyen Tien Minh of Vietnam and Yun Hu of Hong Kong.