Badminton History Made In Southland

Southland Times, Issue 23922, 14 September 1939, Page 11

Badminton History Made In Southland

By

SMASH

For the first time in the badminton history of Southland, the association staged a separate B grade tournament this year. That it was a popular innovation is shown by the big number of entries received —more than 200 were received for the 10 events. The programme included, also for the first time, championship events as well as handicaps. • The tournament was a great success in every way. The standard of play was very good for the grade and augurs well for the future of the game locally. The officials, Messrs Braithwaite, Wren Reid, Hobbs and Lemin, worked hard and were rewarded with the very smooth running of the tournament. At the conclusion of play on the last night, Mr A. J. Deaker, president of the Southland Association presented the trophies to the winners and congratulated the competitors on the high standard of play they had exhibited.

G. Horsburgh (Winton) came through a strong field in fine style tq win the men’s singles championship. He was never seriously challenged although T. Thorbum gave him a hard game in the" semi-final.

P. Skelt (All Saints), who opposed Horsburgh in the final, played well throughout except for his backhand shots. He is weak there and at present is foolishly cultivating a shot which will get him into constant trouble unless he cuts it out quickly. The final was a good game but Skelt was at a disadvantage in reach and hitting power. Horsburgh has a strong smash and disguises an overhead drop shot well. Braxton was another player to do well. His left-handed shots have plenty of power and he is sound on the short shots. He did well to reach the semi-finals. Others to do well in a strong field were Coward, Hutton and Brash. WOMEN’S SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIP Miss M. Mowat (Britannia) showed distinct promise in winning the women’s singles championship. She is well equipped with shots and has not the usual backhand weakness. At present she lacks variety in service but her smash is fast and powerful. In the final against Mrs Hamilton (Invercargill) Miss Mowat was slow to settle down and Mrs Hamilton’s accuracy gained her the first game, but thereafter she could not match the strong hitting of her opponent; Miss Mowat took the next two games for the rubber with the loss of only five points. Miss M. Rodger and Miss McLean were two young players to do. well STRONG MEN’S DOUBLES The field in the men’s doubles championship was one of the' strongest in the tournament and some excellent contests were staged. The finalist pairs came through their respective halves of the draw well and the meeting produced a good game. ,G. Horsburgh and G. Hamilton (Winton) won the final in straight sets and although Braxton and Skelt (All Saints) challenged strongly and matched their opponents short shots, the Winton players had a much better understanding and had an advantage in speed of smash. Scott and Hartley and Gordon and Barnett were the other semi-finalists and these pairs displayed good form, as did Hutton and Coward.

The women’s doubles championship was won in straight games by Misses Moir and McLean (All Saints) from Misses Matheson and Morton (Invercargill). Miss Moir has improved rapidly and the diminutive Miss McLean plays a hard-hitting game from back-court. Misses Matheson and Morton were slow to find their form in the final and lost the first game easily. The second was well fought but the Invercargill pair had' not the necessary, finish. Misses Mowat, and Glennie were a

prominent pair and went out only at 15-13 in the third set of their semi-final. The other semi-final pair was Mrs and Miss Fox who did much good work in forcing the ultimate winners to 1514 in the second set of their match. The final of the mixed doubles championship was played at a late hour on the last night and all four players showed the effects of a hard night’s play. P. Skelt and Miss McLean (All Saints) showed good form in winning. Skelt placed his shots well and was good at positional play while Miss McLean was accurate in handling the net shots. Hutton played well but was obviously feeling the effects of his previous matches and made more errors than usual. Mrs Sutherland did not produce, in the final, her form of earlier rounds and was rather inclined to wander out of position. Thorburn and Miss Mowat Barnett and Miss Moir, Henderson and Miss Fox were prominent pairs. GOOD HANDICAP ENTRIES The handicap events drew big entries and many spirited bouts were seen. G. Horsburgh, who won the championship singles was successful in the handicap event also. Hutton, of the Invercargill Club, was runner-up. He has a good style and beat some good men on his way to the final. T. Thorbum was another to show promise. He executes his shots neatly and wastes ■no energy. Braxton has the left-hander’s usual good smash and he is improving quickly at the shots closer to the net.

Miss Mowat completed a good double by winning the women’s singles handicap from a back mark. She was never seriously troubled in the final against Miss Galt, to whom she had to concede a 12-point start. Miss Galt has some good shots but was frequently caught on the wrong foot by welldisguised drop shots. Misses Moir, Hinchey and McLean were others to show decided promise at singles. All were very active about the court. The men’s doubles went to P. Skelt and Braxton, of All Saints. These two displayed good form; their short work was good and overhead they had sufficient power. Their biggest weakness was a big gap which Skelt always left on his backhand sideline. Fortunately for them, very few of the opponents attempted to make use of it. The other pair in the final were Henderson and Henderson who did much good work and might easily have won. There was nothing between the two pairs as the score 13-15, 15-14, 15-14, indicates. Two young players in Misses Moir and McLean won the women’s doubles but only after a three-set game. The Lindsay sisters from Winton are keen retrievers but have little power in their smashing. Scott and Miss Scott, of Wailacetown, defeated Hutton and Miss Sutherland in the final of the mixed doubles. An unusual feature of their play is that Scott played mostly at the net while Miss Scott did the hard hitting ably from the backline. The most important event on the programme on the final night was a handicap singles for association members, which was won by J. Braithwaite in a stirring final match against A. J. Deaker. Deaker, on his way to the final, had disposed of two strong players in D. W. Reed and A. Hobbs, who by their efforts materially helped Braithwaite to win his final. In the final Deaker produced a fine backhand clear with regularity. The final became in a measure a burlesque of the game and Braithwaite is to be congratulated, for although he had the assistance of Reed and Hobbs in earlier rounds, he had in the final, to overcome an umpire who left no doubt as to the direction of his sympathies, a gallery positively hostile and a net which suddenly raised itself just when he was about to hit. A suitable presentation was made to the winner of the event at the close of play.