Clerical error costs Prince Rupert's Adrian Liu a shot at Pan Am medals

There are many ways to miss out on a gold medal, tough competition, injury, even just a bad day on the court, but for Prince Rupert's Adrian Liu and his partner Derrick Ng, the end of their Pan Am Games tournament came by way of a clerical error.

As the CBC outlined for the nation prior to the Opening Ceremonies today, the highly touted Canadian pair were disqualified from the Pan Am games on Friday, owing to rules that prohibit registration in two events at the same.

Problems cropped up when it was discovered that Liu and Ng had also been registered for an event in Taipei taking place at the same time as the Pan Am Games.

Canadian officials thought that they had registered the pair for an event in Taipei this fall, however the clerical error had in reality placed them in a Taipei tournament taking place this week, a violation of Federation rules.

Prince Rupert's Adrian Liu
and pairs partner
Derrick Ng were disqualified
from the Pan Am Games
owing to a clerical error

While Badminton Canada appealed the ruling, that request was denied, with the net result being the two are now disqualified from two events.

For Prince Rupert fans, the paperwork mistake and subsequent disqualification means that North Coast viewers won't have much of a rooting interest when the badminton tournament gets underway tomorrow.

Beyond the definite blow to Canadian medal hopes, the situation may be even more costly for the Canadian pair.

By not participating in the Pan Am games, they now face a tougher challenge ahead for placement in the 2016 Olympic Games to take place in Brazil.

The Pan Am Games competition carries a fair amount of weight when it comes to the rankings leading up to the Rio de Janeiro games, with a successful result in Toronto considered a big boost to Olympic ambitions.

The CBC report can be review here.

The schedule for all Pan Am Games events can be viewed here, while the CBC home page for Pan Am Games coverage can be found here.