Tammy needs title to keep Olympic bid alive
Tamarine Tanasugarn is clinging to slim hopes of making a fifth appearance at the Olympics as she plans her return to competition in May after three months of sickness.
The Thai No 1 has been suffering a mystery ailment since the Pattaya Open in February, and decided to skip all tournaments to get medical advice.
“It started bothering me in Pattaya and at that time there was no clear diagnosis of my condition. So I decided to stay home and find out. My doctor says it is because of lack of minerals,’’ said Tamarine, who is due to play her next tournament in Gifu, Japan, where she is defending champion.
Currently ranked 86 in the world, Tammy has four events – three Challengers in Japan and the French Open – to qualify for the London Olympics. She needs to retain her crown in Gifu and reach the finals in the other Challengers to climb into the top 65, which is the cutoff point for Olympics.
“To play one more Olympics has been my goal since the start of the year. It won’t be easy. I have to do extremely well in the three events in Japan, but I still hope for good things.
“My fitness is improving and I hope to be fresh before returning to the tour,’’ said Tammy, whose best performance in the Olympics so far is a doubles quarterfinal with Benjamas Sangaram at the Sydney 2000 Games.
