NO-ONE KEENER TO TAKE GOLD Reinstated amateur anxious to redeem himself

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33442, 25 January 1974, Page 10

NO-ONE KEENER TO TAKE GOLD Reinstated amateur anxious to redeem himself

A former professional player, Paul Whetnall (England), will be keen to redeem himself in the amateur badminton ranks when the first and second round singles matches begin today in Cowles Stadium.

Whetnall, a silver medallist in the singles! at Edinburgh four years ago, made an unsuccessful venture into the professional ranks in December 1970. After two years of playing, little more than exhibition matches, Whetnall was reinstated a year ago. He gained ! immediate success as an ama- i teur a second time, and now! needs only the gold medal] in the singles next week to; complete a spectacular re-1 turn. Two other players, Whetnall’s wife, Susan, and Miss Margaret Boxall (England), also became professionals but will be competing in the Games after re-instatement. I. Unsuccessful move I The players’ move into the] professional field proved a ! retrograde step as they were]! unable to organise tourna-h rnents and failed to gain hard ! match play. Of all the 70 competitors, the three English players will be the most anxious to win medals. The men’s singles has a ; high-class field of 40, and then defending champion, Jamie Paulson (Canada), expects an hard time in his attempt to i retain the title. “I'm realistic; I’m not the;' favourite. There are six or i seven of us evenlv matched ; and the person who wins will 11 be very sharp,” he said. ]i Problem of heat i “I have made sure that I i will be fit as it will be hard i going in the heat. Some < people dehydrate and lose < energv quickly in the heat.' but 1 like it. The weather will i not affect mv play. If 1 lose. > it will because it was to an better player.” ( In his preparation for the ; tournament. Paulson has been training four hours a day and taking two-mile runs every morning. Paulson heat Whetnall. 10- t 15. 15-13, 15-10, in the final T at Edinburgh, I;

■ The tournament has a lop- ] sided look: there are the very ]] strong teams from England Hand Malaysia who will be l challenged only by the occaisiona! leading player of the ]other 12 competing countries. N Z. challenger Paulson is Canada’s ans|wer, and he will be joined by New Zealand’s champion, Richard Purser, the brilliant, 18-year-old Pradkone Prakash '(lndia), and Australia’s young Ichampion, Paul Tyrell, to dispute the Englishmen and (Malaysians. England has three of the men’s singles seeds, two women’s singles seeds, and seven of the 12 doubles seeds. Malaysia has two men’s singles seeds, a ] women’s singles seed and two (of the doubles seeds. England has the world-] ] class players in Whetnall, | Derek Talbot, Miss Margaret Beck and Mrs Gillian Gilks. Malaysia replies with Punch • Gunalan. Tan Aik Mong and Miss Rosalind Ang. Best since war Mr Herbert Scheele, the secretary of the international 'association for 35 years, thinks Whetnall is the best player England has produced since World War 11. If the draw runs to plan, Whetnall is due to play Aik Mong in the quarter-finals, and this is set to become one lof the highlights of the tournament. Aik Mong has more potential than his famous brother, ■Aik Huan, who won the singles gold medal at Kingston, and although seeded only sixth, Aik Mong might cause some upsets. His team-mate, Gunalan, will have one of the hardest smashes at the tournament, and his opponents will have to find a way to kill his aggressiveness. Purser's potential New Zealand’s chances of a medal lie with Richard Purser in the singles. He has la hard draw, but has the 4

potential to overcome the obstacles.’ And he also has one big advantage: he will have the home-crowd cheering him on. The women’s singles is I cut and dry. It will be dom- ] mated by Miss Beck and (Mrs Gilks, who finished first ■ and second, respectively, in (the unofficial world championships — the all-England I tournament — last year. Miss Beck is the top player in the world and Mrs Gilks is close behind her. Both players hit the shuttle hard, and already have an extra advantage of power over their opponents. At Edinburgh, Miss Beck beat Mrs Gilks, 3-11, 11-3, 11-8, in the final. In the past the English players have suffered from a lack of courts and, accordingly play more doubles matches than singles. So their doubles play is of a high standard. It would be no surprise if i Miss Beck and Mrs Gilks! play Mrs Whetnall and Miss i

I. — Boxall in the women’s final, and England is set to follow the pattern at Edinburgh by providing the three medal winners in the mixed doubles. The outcome of the men’s doubles is not as easily predictable. Malaysia and England have two strong combinations. Talbot and Elliott Stuart are the number one seeds, and it will be up to the Malaysian No. 1 combination, (Gunalan and Soong Chok Soon, to upset the expected iEngland dominance.