Il Nuovo Postiglione - Badminton underdogs enjoy 'amazing' 16 minutes of fame in Japan

Fifty-year-old Kar Lung Chun and his 40-year-old partner Karen Yun Qiao Feng were drafted in to compete in the mixed doubles in Tokyo after a slew of withdrawals.

The pair, who represent England, had never competed together and have spent their careers slogging it out in badminton's lower-level tournaments.

Chun has won only five matches in his international career, while Feng's sole victory came in a walkover.

They were no match for their opponents at the Japan Open, losing 21-2, 21-6 to Denmark's European champions Mathias Christiansen and Alexandra Boje in just over a quarter of an hour.

Chun said it was "an amazing experience" to play in a Super 750 tournament -- the second-highest level on badminton's world tour.

"We couldn't sleep well when we learned we could make the main draw," said the bespectacled Chun, who was born in Hong Kong and lives in Liverpool.

"This is such a big tournament. We feel so happy."

Both Chun and Feng devote themselves full-time to badminton and do not have other jobs.

But their lives are very different from the sport's top stars such as South Korea's women's number one An Se-young.

Feng said she and Chun did not expect to win any games in Tokyo and that she entered the competition "to challenge myself".

"It was a dream to try this kind of level," she said.

Chun said he plans which tournaments to enter each year when the calendar comes out at the start of a season.

Even though success has proven difficult to come by, he says staying motivated is not a problem.

"You have to always talk to yourself – 'you can make it, you can make it'," he said.

"If you don't give up, anything can happen. Now we've proved that."

Q.Bernardi--INP