N.Z. badminton critics lashed

Press, 14 August 1978, Page 18

N.Z. badminton critics lashed

NZPA staff correspondent Edmonton The veteran New Zealand badminton player, Richard Purser, on Saturday lashed out at critics who have criticised New Zealand badminton team members over the years for never having won a medal at the Commonwealth Games. “This is the hardest sport in which to win a Games medal,” he said, “and I get a little bit riled with people who criticise us for not winning medals.” Purser, aged 36, was speaking after he and his brother, Bryan, aged 27, teamed to take the play-off in the men’s doubles of the individual tournament to win the bronze medal. The medal-winning performance was the first for New Zealand in the four Games in which badminton has been played. The two New Plymouth brothers won the bronze when they over-powered two Englishmen, Derek Talbot and Kevin Jolly, 15-10, 1115, 15-1. New Zealand’s chance of a second bronze disappeared an hour later when the older Purser and Alison Branfield — captain of the New Zealand women’s team — were beaten, 15-9, 15-9, by the English pairing of Talbot and Barbara Sutton in the mixed doubles play-off. “Critics overlook a number of points when they hit us for not winning medals,” Purser said. “They forget the large number of players in each section, 48 in the men’s

singles for example, the large number of countries taking part, the fact that we have to be consistent and physically strong in many matches, plus the fact that an unlucky draw can destroy your chances.” Purser noted that he and his brother and the rest of the seven-man squad have had at least 20 matches each. He compared this with other sports such as wrestling and boxing where an athlete can win a medal in one or two bouts and not have extra competition for the bronze, as in badminton. The team’s manager, Mr Paul Skelt, said that the New Zealand team as a whole played well throughout the demanding schedule and the medal was richly deserved. The Purser brothers and the other two New Zealand men, Steve Wilson and Ross Livingston, have only two weeks’ rest before they are in competition again. They return to New Zealand from Edmonton to prepare for their clash against Japan in the Thomas Cup. “The hard play here and this added experience at international level must be good for us in opr upcoming tie with the Japanese,” Richard Purser said. The gold in the men’s doubles was won by England, which beat Malaysia in the final. England also took the golds in the women’s and mixed doubles. Padukone Prakash (India) took the men’s singles gold and the women’s title went to Sylvia Ng (Malaysia).