The badminton event is over in Melbourne, with few big surprises. Canada didn’t win any medals, but Malaysia and England sure did winning 7 and 6 respectively. Visit the new Badminton Players’ Federation website for a full report on the tournament’s final day.

There are no more Canadians left in the badminton event at the Commonwealth Games. The last remaining Canadians were knocked out at the quarter-finals stage which means we won’t have any chances at a bronze medal. In the womens doubles Charmaine Reid and Helen Nichol lost to India’s Murgunde and Nehwal in a heartbreaking three set loss 5-21, 21-17, 23-21. Also, in the mixed doubles event Will Milroy and Tammy Sun lost to New Zealand’s Shirley and Runesten-Petersen 22-20, 21-11. The tournament was something of a disappointment for the Canadian team whose goals were to medal in the team event, and to win 2 medals in the individual event. This tournament is another reminder that there needs to be some change in Badminton Canada if we want to keep up with the rest of the world. Both Australia and New Zealand have made progress on the international scene, as has the United States, defeating both the Canadian men and women at the Thomas Cup in Peru.

The Canadian badminton team is slowly being knocked out at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, but there have been some pretty good matches so far.

All of the mens singles players have been knocked out, Andrew Dabeka played Wong Choong Han, losing 21-14, 21-16. Unfortunately 3rd seeded Bobby Milroy lost 13-21, 21-14, 10-21 to Niluka Karunaratne from Sri Lanka, and Phil Bourret lost to the first seed Lee Chong Wei 21-6, 21-4.

In womens singles Anna Rice lost to Frances Liu from Singapore 21-16, 21-19 and Charmaine Reid lost to Elizabeth Cann 21-16, 21-12.

In womens doubles Tammy Sun and Val Loker lost to Joanne Nicholas and Donna Kellogg 21-16, 21-4 while Charmaine Reid and Helen Nichol will be in the quarter-finals against an Indian pair, Murgunde and Nehwal.

In mens doubles Will Milroy and Mike Beres lost a heartbreaking round of 16 match to Wong Choong Han and Choong Tan Fook of Malaysia in two very close sets 21-19, 22-20. Had they won this match they would have had an excellent shot at a medal.

In mixed doubles Phil Bourret and Helen Nichol will be facing Englands superstar mixed doubles pair Gail Emms and Nathan Robertson in the quarter final round. As I type this Will Milroy and Tammy Sun are battling against Olmpic mixed doubles bronze medallist Simon Archer and his partner Ella Tripp. Mike Beres and Val Loker lost to Saputra and Li from Singapore 21-8, 21-8.

Full Results.

Prakash Padukone’s daughter is apparently going to be in a Bollywood film called “Piracy” which is about piracy in the music industry. Prakash Padukone won the All England Championship in 1983, one of only two Indians to ever do so, with Pulella Gopichand being the second to do so in 2001. The movie has not begun filming yet.

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The New Zealand badminton team has been stirring up some controversy in Melbourne at the Commonwealth Games. They have un-officially named themselves the “Black Cocks” presumably after the rugby team the “All Blacks”. The team are wearing shirts with it, and so are their fans.

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Malaysia has defeated England to take the team gold in badminton at the Commonwealth Games. The key match was the womens singles between Tracey Hallam and Wong Mew Choo, a heart breaking, extremely tight 3 game match. Wong Mew Choo took this match 27-25, 20-22, 21-18. As I stated before the pressure was on for the English women if they were to have any chance to win the title, and it looks as though Wong Mew Choo won this for Malaysia.

Malaysia defeated England 3-1
Wong and Ooi lost to Robertson and Emms 21-15, 21-12
Lee defeated Ghaffar 21-8, 21-8
Wong defeated Hallam 27-25, 20-22, 21-18
Chan and Koo defeated Clark and Blair 21-14, 21-14

Full Results.

India has defeated New Zealand to take the bronze medal in the team event at the Commonwealth Games. There were some very close matches, with 3 out of the 4 matches going to 3 sets. Surprisingly India took the mixed doubles, and New Zealand took the mens singles, results which weren’t expected. The gold medal match is underway with England leading 1-0 after Nathan Robertson and Gail Emms succeeded in taking the mixed doubles match. Currently Lee Chong Wei is leading the mens singles 1 game to nothing over Aamir Ghaffar.

India defeated New Zealand 3-1
Vallyaveetil Diju and Jwala Gutta defeated Daniel Shirley and Sara Runesten 21-17, 13-21, 21-9
Anup Sridhar lost to John Moody 11-21, 21-8, 21-19
Saina Nehwal defeated Rebecca Bellingham 21-13, 24-22
Thomas Sanave and Rupesh Kumar defeated Daniel Craig and Craig Cooper 11-21, 21-11, 21-18

Full Results.

It seems that the majority of the burden for Englands team gold hopes have been placed on the English women. If England hopes to win the team gold they are going to need to win the womens singles, doubles and mixed doubles as Malaysia have a much stronger mens team. Likely Wong Choong Hann will play Aamir Ghaffar, and Blair/Clark will face one of Malaysia’s several strong doubles pairs, both matches are tilted in Malaysia’s favour. However, Ghaffar has been known to be something of a giant killer, defeating both Bao Chunlai and Shon Seung Mo in past tournaments. Still, the press seem happy to place the burden on Gail Emms’ shoulders, placing her as England’s best hopes for gold.

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England and Malaysia have won their semi-final team matches against India and New Zealand respectively, and will face each other in the gold medal match. England was pushed to the limits against India, winning 3-2 while Malaysia defeated New Zealand 3-1.

England defeats India 3-2
Gail Emms and Nathan Robertson defeated Trupti Murgunde and Valiyaveetil Diju 21-10, 21-7
Aamir Ghaffar lost to Anup Sridhar 21-15, 21-14
Tracey Hallam lost to Saina Nehwal 23-21, 21-15
Anthony Clark and Robert Blair defeated Rupesh Kumar and Sanave Thomas 21-19, 21-19
Gail Emms and Donna Kellogg defeated Shruti Kurian and Jwala Gutta 21-11, 21-17

Malaysia defeats New Zealand 3-1
Wong Choong Hann and Ooi Sock Ai lost to Sara Runesten and Daniel Shirley 21-19, 21-14
Lee Chong Wei defeated Geoffrey Bellingham 21-17, 21-5
Wong Mew Choo defeated Rebecca Bellingham 21-15, 21-19
Koo Kien Keat and Chan Chong Ming defeated Daniel Shirley and Craig Cooper 21-11, 21-14

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Full Results.

England defeated Canada and will be facing surprise semi-finalists India who defeated Singapore in the quarter-finals, while Malaysia will be facing New Zealand in the other semi-finals.

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Bobby Milroy defeated Simon Archer 21-9, 21-6

Charmaine Reid lost to Tracey Hallam 21-6, 21-14

Will Milroy and Mike Beres lost to Anthony Clark and Robert Blair 21-10, 19-21, 21-18

Tammy Sun and Val Loker lost to Donna Kellogg and Joanne Nicholas 21-16, 21-4

Full Results.