TOKYO — Two badminton veterans enjoyed 16 minutes of fame at the Japan Open today when they appeared in the main draw of a high-level tournament after a lifetime of trying.

Fifty-year-old Kar Lung Chun and his 40-year-old partner Karen Yun Qiao Feng were drafted in to compete in the mixed doubles in Tokyo after a slew of withdrawals.

The pair, who represent England, had never competed together and have spent their careers slogging it out in badminton’s lower-level tournaments.

Chun has won only five matches in his international career, while Feng’s sole victory came in a walkover.

They were no match for their opponents at the Japan Open, losing 21-2, 21-6 to Denmark’s European champions Mathias Christiansen and Alexandra Boje in just over a quarter of an hour.

Chun said it was “an amazing experience” to play in a Super 750 tournament—the second-highest level on badminton’s world tour.

“We couldn’t sleep well when we learned we could make the main draw,” said the bespectacled Chun, who was born in Hong Kong and lives in Liverpool.

“This is such a big tournament. We feel so happy.”

Both Chun and Feng devote themselves full-time to badminton and do not have other jobs.

But their lives are very different from the sport’s top stars such as South Korea’s women’s number one An Se-young.