London 2012: Agathangelou avoiding qualifying pressure

Mariana Agathangelou (r) in discussion with partner Heather Olver during a match

Jersey's Mariana Agathangelou says she is trying not to put too much pressure on herself in her bid to qualify for the London Olympics.

The 23-year-old and her doubles partner Heather Olver are up to 26th in badminton's world rankings.

"We've been doing well all season and we've been really consistent," Agathangelou told BBC Radio Jersey.

"We don't want to think about it too much and put too much pressure on ourselves."

The top 16 pairs will compete at the Games but there are restrictions on the amount of competitors from each country and rules to ensure a variety of continents are represented.

Agathangelou and Olver, who were finalists in the England National Championships in Manchester, are 19th on the list with three months to go until the qualification cut-off point.

Agathangelou said: "If you watch any players at the moment you can see how stressed all of us are compared to previous seasons.

"Now every game matters and every tournament matters with points going towards the Olympics.

"Some people are really crumbling and some people are rising to the challenge."