Longtown badminton ace Lauren Smith believes she made a good start to her Olympic qualifying campaign in Denmark.
Smith, 27, reached the final of the Denmark Challenge alongside doubles partner Chloe Birch, where the pair lost out 21-13, 21-18 to Japanese pair Saori Ozaki and Akane Watanabe at the event in Farum. The tournament also saw the former William Howard School student begin the process of earning a place at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
“That was our first qualifying event. It [Olympic qualifying] runs until next May now, so we’re expecting to be really busy,” Smith said.
"Although we lost in the final, it was definitely a good start.
"In the quarter-final and semi-final, I think we really dominated with our attack and speed, which is something we’ve worked on a lot in the last few weeks.
"So, it was encouraging to see the hard work we’ve put in paying off."
On her performance in the final, five-time Commonwealth Games medallist Smith, who competed at the Rio 2016 Olympics, said: “In the final, I think we struggled to get the same rhythm and the Japanese pair were really consistent.
“But, like I say, overall it was a good tournament.”
Smith is now in China for the Sudirman Cup, where she is co-captain of the England team alongside Toby Penty.
She said: “It’s a real honour.
“The team are in an extremely strong group with Denmark and Indonesia but the whole team will be out to show their best.”
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