WORCESTER badminton star Simon Archer and his partner Robert Blair face an almighty task in their opening match of the German Open which starts in the Rhein-Ruhr Halle in Duisburg later today.

Archer and Blair begin their doubles campaign against the tournament's number one seeds -- Danish pair Lars Paaske and Jonas Rasmussen.

The British duo suffered defeat at the hands of Paaske and Rasmussen in last week's Danish Open, crashing out in the quarter-finals 2/15, 15/12, 11/15, before the Scandinavians wrapped up the title on home territory.

Archer, 31, was British badminton's first Olympic medal winner when he claimed a mixed doubles bronze with Jo Goode in Sydney 2000.