“A HIGH STANDARD”

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 207, 29 May 1936, Page 6

“A HIGH STANDARD”

Badminton in New Zealand Mr. F. J. Devlin, the world-famed badminton player, who is touring New Zealand at the invitation of the New. Zealand Badminton Association, has expressed himself as being surprised .at the high standard of play in the Dominion. Starting at Auckland, and playing at various towns on his way down to Wellington, Mr. Devlin has had many opportunities of forming an opinion on the standard of the plav in this country. While pleased with the standard of the play, he also stated that the players were handicapped by unsuitable halls, until clubs erected their own buildings, be said, they would always be slightly handicapped. At the moment, however, they were doing remarkably well. The game of badminton, said Mr. Devlin, was making great strides all oyer the world. There were between oO.UOO and 60,000 players in Canada, where badminton ranked next to ice-hockey as the national game. Thousands were I playing it throughout Great Britain, Denmark, Sweden, and the United States. It was even becoming popular in Malaya as an evening game.