Northern trip a success

Press, 18 May 1984, Page 26

Northern trip a success

The South Island badminton team’s tour of the North Island, which ended with an 11-5 loss to a strong Auckland team on Wednesday night, had been highly successful, according to the team manager, Paul Skelt, of Southland. The tour encompassed matches against Counties, North Shore, Waitemata and Auckland, as well as competition in the North Shore and Counties open tournaments. There was a lot of high pressure play for the South Islanders, and, if anything, perhaps too much, said Mr Skelt. “We probably endeavoured to do a little too much in too little time,” he said. “They were getting a lot of hard games, and the tournaments were tough, right from the first round.” The benefits are obvious, added Mr Skelt. The players are particularly fit and, in spite of the strenuous itinerary, remain in good physical condition. “The doubles and mixed doubles play has improved out of sight on the tour,” said Mr Skelt. “In the singles play, they don’t seem to be making as many silly mistakes as they were; they are controlling the shuttle much better.”

Although reluctant to single out an individual, Mr Skelt had special praise for Canterbury’s Jane Clarke. She had had a “pretty suc-

cessful” trip and her mixed doubles play has improved markedly. “She has got to the stage where she would not be far behind the best (in mixed doubles) in the country,” he said. “If she keeps on improving she’ll make the breakthrough.” The results of the Auckland match with Auckland names first, were.— Men’s singles: G. Robson beat N. Skelt, 15-6, 15-5; S. Lobb beat P. Skelt, 15-5, 15-1; G. Stewart beat M. Lindsay, 15-2, 15-6; M. Christie lost to P. Gulasekharam, 6-15, 8-15.

Women’s singles: T. Whittaker beat A. Ross, 11-1, 11-3; L. Bignell lost to J. Clarke, 711, 7-11; K. Hauer beat C. Hellyer, 2-11, 11-71, 11-3; B. Roberts beat J. Still, 11-3, 811, 11-6. Men’s doubles: Robson and Lobb beat N. and P. Skelt, 15-

7, 15-9; Stewart and Christie lost to S. Tetai and Lindsay, 615, 6-15. Women’s doubles: Miss Whittaker and R. Archer beat Miss Ross and Miss Clarke, 15-10, 15-9; Miss Roberts and Miss Bignell lost to Miss Hellyer and Miss Barrett, Ills, 15-11, 15-18. Mixed doubles: Robson and Miss Whittaker beat N. Skelt and Miss Clarke, 15-9, 15-4; Lobb and Miss Archer beat P. Skelt and Miss Hellyer, 15-11, 15-4; Stewart and Miss Hauer beat Lindsay and Miss Ross, 15-8, 16-18, 18-17; Christie and Miss Roberts lost to Tetai and Miss Barrett, 6-15, 15-9, 0-15. ® England and South Korea joined the ranks of the top badminton nations when they secured the third places in the Thomas and Über Cup championships respectively in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. England finished third in the Thomas Cup when it edged out South Korea, 32, in a closely contested match. The Korean women proved too powerful for Denmark, winning 5-0, to get third place in the Über Cup. The Korean women were making their first appearance in the tournament. China will take on England in the Über Cup final today, with the Thomas Cup final between the defending champions, China, and the seven-time winners, Indonesia, to be played tomorrow.