Good Badminton Material

Manawatu Times, Volume 64, Issue 132, 7 June 1939, Page 2

Good Badminton Material

COMMENT ON PLAYERS “The men all played remarkably well and it is gratifying to see that your association has so many young players shaping so well that it only requires hard match play to put them in the forefront of badminton,” states a report by the president and secretary of the Manawatu Association, Messrs. P. B. Davidson and J. T. McDonald, on the recent tournament in Palmerston North. C. Sheerin in no wise detracted from his local reputation and, with the exception of Hawkesworth, the New Zealand champion, was equal to if not better than any other player. He is a better singles player than a doubles player, and his win over Roussell was meritorious. His footwork occasionally is bad, as he will persist in serving oil the wrong foot. As he becomes a little more matured and develops more courtcraft, he should eventually reach the top in New Zealand badminton. W. Jensen would play much better if he concentrated more. He plays for the sheer joy of playing and not for the sake of winning. He has all the strokes for the making of a good player, but is just a little too lackadaisical. T. Christmas was the only local player to win his four singles matches. His win over Reid, of Wellington, was fully deserved and he has the right temperament and uses his head. With youth on his side and more tournament play he should develop into a first-class player. H. Marguison, a newcomer from the Auckland district, is a player with a nice variety of strokes but could do with a little more dash in his game, as he has a preference for drop shots. He was worthy of his place in the team. A. Barnett is another player who earned his place. Very active on his feet and with a hard smash he is hard to beat. Living at present in the country, lack of practice has prevented him ftom developing that sense of touch that is necessary for drop shots, and it was on those errors that he mainly lost his points.

It was to be regretted that D. Beauchamp, of Dannevirke, pulled a leg muscle which prevented him from representing the association, but R. Rotheray was a good substitute. This player has good angle and placement shots, but his lack of pace generally enables his opponent to get to them instead of them being actual winners. On the whole it was a very good team.

Unfortunately the same cannot be said about the women. They all tried and worked hard but in most instances were outclassed. The experience they gained in playing in such company will go a long way towards their improvement and they will eventually gain more by losing now than if they had been successful.

The men played 33 games, won 17 and lost 16, while the women played 28, won seven and lost 21.