N.Z. out on countback

Press, 28 July 1986, Page 44

N.Z. out on countback

NZPA staff correspondent

Edinburgh

New Zealand was eliminated from the Commonwealth Games badminton teams event yesterday evening on a close countback after a costly 1-4 loss to Australia.

The Kiwis emerged from a hectic day’s schedule at Meadowbank with 5-0 wins over Wales and Northern Ireland as well as the defeat by their Tasman rivals. They also lost 1-4 to England on the first day of competition.

The decision on which team went forward to the semi-finals rested on a countback of games and New Zealand had won 12 during the tournament

Australia won 13, including one game conceded by the opposition as the Australians went down, 2-3, to Wales.

The New Zealand badminton team’s manager, Mary Mansell, said: “We have had a very hard draw and a lot depended on luck. The luck almost went with us.” The coach, Richard Purser, said he was

“very disappointed” with the loss to Australia and that New Zealand were out of the competition.

“It shows that you’ve got to win early matches.”

The rubber against Australia swung on the men’s doubles after Toni Whittaker started New Zealand on a winning note in the women’s singles.

The Auckland teacher beat Rhona Cator, 3-11, 11-5, 11-2, and then New Zealand had the scent of a 2-0 lead.

The men’s pair, Graeme Robson and Phil Horne, who had beaten the Commonwealth’s top combination, the Englishmen, Andy Goode and Nigel Tier, the previous day, made a promising start yesterday. They won the first game, 15-13, against the Australian pair of Mike Scandolera and Paul Kong but faltered on a run of unforced errors and their opponents began to show they were an accomplished pair. Scandolera and Kong, a well-tuned partnership, put on the pressure and eased away to win the

second and third games, 15-5, 15-1.

Mr Purser said he was “very disappointed” to lose to Australia. “We had our chances in the men’s doubles but the Australians served better.

“Over all, the tie was perhaps lost on the quality of the serving, and if we had managed to clinch that men’s doubles and have a 2-0 lead it could well have been a different result at the end.”

The women’s doubles pair of Katrin Lockey and Karen Phillips came close to pulling back their second game, but lost, 2-15, 13-15, to Julie McDonald and Audrey Tuckey.

The national men’s champion, Kerrln Harrison, had little chance against Sze Yu, the former Hong Kong champion, ranked No. 2 in the world.

The Aucklander, Harri- ' son, strung points together in the first game while Sze Yu was warming up but went down, 1215, 6-15.

Scandolera and Tuckey completed the 4-1 rubber win by beating Robson

and Whittaker, 15-7, 15-8.

The win over Northern Ireland was achieved without the loss of a game, although Horne and Lockey went to 18-17 as they sealed their mixed doubles against Rikki Keag and Ann Stephens. They cruised through the first game, 15-7. Robson won his singles, 15-7, 15-6, against George. Stephens, while Whittaker defeated Barbara Beckett, 11-6, 11-7.

Harrison and Glen Stewart disposed of William Thompson and Rikki Keag, 15-11, 15-11. The women’s doubles saw Whittaker and Phillips beat Beckett and Holly Lane, 15-12, 15-7. In the match against Wales, Harrison beat Philip Sutton, 15-3, 15-3, Lockey beat Lesley Roberts, 11-4, 11-1, and Horne and Robson won 15-10, 15-8, against Lyndon Williams and Chris Rees.

Whittaker and Lockey beat Roberts and Sarah Doody, 15-9, 15-1, while in the mixed doubles Robson and Whittaker defeated Rees and Doody, 15-10, 6-15, 15-9.