Gail Emms and Nathan Robertson went from bronze medal hopefuls to genuine Olympic gold contenders after one of badminton's greatest upsets means they will avoid the hottest of favourites in tomorrow's mixed doubles semi-final. The British pair's 15-8, 17-15 victory over China's Chen Qiqiu and Zhao Tinting was expected to set up a meeting with world No 1 Korean partnership of Kim Don Moon and Ra Kyung Min in the last four. Kim and Ra were unbeaten in 14 consecutive tournaments and arrived at the Olympics as gold medal favourites. It was seen in badminton circles as a virtual guarantee. But the Danish seventh seeds Jonas Rasmussen and Rikke Olsen hassled and harried the Koreans and earned what luck was going, to produce a stunning 17-14, 15-8 surprise win. Rasmussen and Olsen snatched the first game from 14-11 down and then stormed into a 13-3 lead before closing out a memorable victory. The Koreans' unprecedented run was over. They shook hands without emotion, but back in the athletes' village, where Emms and Robertson were watching the tie, there must have been hysteria. Already guaranteed at least a shot at the bronze medal and the chance to emulate Worcester doubles star Simon Archer and Joanne Goode's achievement at the Sydney Olympics, they were suddenly in a position to reevaluate their ambitions. They have never beaten the Koreans but crucially prevailed against the Danes just six weeks ago at the Malaysian Open. Emms and Robertson, the fourth seeds, boast an instinctive on-court relationship born from years of playing together in both the juniors and seniors. Yesterday, Robertson's height coupled with Emms' precision and their natural communication on court cut the Chinese down in the first game. At 13-8 up Britain seemed on course for a comfortable victory, when the Chinese hit back to reach game point. Robertson was beginning to feel the tension but Emms urged him on and the pair finished off a thrilling victory in front of a vociferous gaggle of British supporters. "There is nothing better than reaching the medal stages," said Robertson. "I felt we controlled the match until the very end. We were 13-8 up and in such control but tension comes in - this is the Olympics Games and you start thinking about the next round which is the biggest mistake you can make. "We worked well together as a pair to come back and get composed when we let them have a game point. We are both tough characters and we know when one or the other isn't playing to our potential. "We know what to say to each other to turn things around. Gail was strong there at the end for me." There was success, too, for Britain in the women's doubles, with Ella Tripp and Joanne Wright moving into the last 16 with a hard-fought 17-15, 17-14 victory over Bulgaria's Petya Nedelcheva and Neli Boteva. Next in their sights are the Dutch fifth seeds Lotte Bruil and Mia Audina and yesterday's match was the ideal preparation to face a pairing they have never beaten. "It was good to play a team of similar standard rather than an easy match because we play the Dutch pair tomorrow and they are very aggressive," said Tripp. Tracey Hallam's Olympic journey ended in the quarter-finals of the women's singles with a disappointing 11 - 0 , 11 - 9 defeat to Indonesian-born Dutch seed Mia Audina. Hallam, the British No 1 from Burton-on-Trent, could not recapture the form which toppled Syney silver medalist Camilla Martin in the previous round. "I would like to have played better but I really didn't expect to get to the quarter-finals of the Olympics," said Hallam. In the men's singles, Richard Vaughan moved into the last 16 with victory over Portugal's Marco Vasconcelos by a 15-5, 15-5 margin. In the evening session, Emms - with her thigh strapped - joined Donna Kellogg to reach the last 16 of the women's doubles, beating Louisa Wai Chee Koon and Li Wing Mui, of Hong Kong, 15-4, 15-3. | 
