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The Agenda: Badminton puts funding case and England seek netball upset

Rob Bleaney
Marcus Ellis, right, and Chris Langridge celebrate winning bronze medals in the doubles at Rio 2016 but the sport has been provisionally stripped of its funding for the 2020 Olympic cycle.
Marcus Ellis, right, and Chris Langridge celebrate winning bronze medals in the doubles at Rio 2016 but the sport has been provisionally stripped of its funding for the 2020 Olympic cycle. Photograph: Kin Cheung/AP

BREAKING BAD

Monday is a big day for the sport of badminton. Badminton England will put forward its case at a UK Sport appeal hearing into what it called the “staggering and incomprehensible” decision to strip the sport of its funding for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic cycle. Marcus Ellis, who won bronze with Chris Langridge at Rio 2016 to secure Britain’s first men’s doubles medal in badminton, said the funding cut would give young players “no chance at all” of making a career in the sport.

SPARKLING DIAMONDS

Australia will be shooting for a clean sweep when they take on England in Netball’s Quad Series at Wembley Arena on Sunday (BBC2 and Sky Sports Mix, 1pm). Tracey Neville’s England Roses were thumped by New Zealand on Thursday but will be looking for some pride against the all-conquering Diamonds before the South Africa Proteas take on the Silver Ferns (Sky Sports Mix, 3pm).

IT’S THIRD-ROUND DAY

The Women’s FA Cup reaches the third round on Sunday and the highlights are two all-WSL2 ties. The six-times Cup winners Doncaster Rovers Belles, once the dominant force in women’s football but now relegated to the second tier, host Watford while the London Bees travel to Millwall.

KONTA TAKES AIM

Fresh from her Australian Open heroics, Johanna Konta will lead a strong GB team in the Fed Cup play-offs in Estonia starting on Wednesday. The new GB captain, Anne Keothavong, also has Heather Watson, Laura Robson and the doubles specialist Jocelyn Rae to call on. GB play Turkey, Latvia and Portugal in their pool and must finish top to earn a spot in the promotion play-off on Saturday. The winners of that will contest April’s World Group II play-off.

DRAGON TAMERS

England cross the Severn on Saturday to face Wales in the second round of Six Nations matches. Wales will be fired up after losing their past two matches against their fierce rivals. The retractable roof will remain open unless England agree to close it, an unlikely occurrence considering Wales’s love of playing under cover. (BBC1, 4.50pm)