Men’s badminton firsts romp home to 8-0 win

February 28, 2011 | ONLINE ONLY
Simon Bromley

Image: Philippa Grafton

UNIVERSITY OF YORK 8

UNIVERSITY OF HULL 0

The badminton firsts romped to an 8-0 win to cap off an excellent weekend which saw them declared York’s Varsity Team of the Year. The one-sided score line was perhaps unfair on a Hull team that remained competitive throughout.

James Hor got York off to the perfect start as he dispatched his opponent in straight sets. It was, however, a tough tie for the singles number one as he battled to a 21-18, 21-19 victory. Then came the performance of the whole contest from Baillie Watterson who edged an exhausting 21-19, 12-21, 22-24 thriller.

The ever-reliable Ricky Kanabar and Paddy Clarke then eased through their first match 21-10, 21-15. York’s other doubles pairing of James Davies and Tim Green then completed the first round route with an assured 21-15, 21-14 win.

Image: Philippa Grafton

The ever-confident Hor then put York out of sight, winning 21-10, 21-12, but York didn’t let their standards drop despite the Varsity points being in the bag. Watterson took another tight game this time in two sets; 21-10, 23-21, meanwhile Kanabar and Clarke won 21-16, 21-14 whilst Davies and Green won 21-14, 10-21, 21-15.

Hull struggled through with a high unforced error count but this should not detract from York’s impressive performance.