BADMINTON - Bright future for NZ's No1 ranked singles player

John Moody knew his goose was cooked well before he even arrived in China for the Beijing Olympics, having been drawn to meet the world number three Chen Jin of China in the first round of the Olympic tournament.
But the Northland badminton star, New Zealand's No1 ranked singles player, reckons the straight sets loss in Beijing had a positive flip side and was keen to make sure his Olympic experience inspired the next generation of Kiwi badminton stars while they were in Whangarei on Monday.
"It was one of those things where we saw (the draw) in New Zealand before we went, you don't want to say before you go, `Oh I'm not going to win', but as it turned out he (Jin) got the bronze medal and always was expected to," Moody said.
"The thing is, with these top guys, when they play well they can make life difficult. There's a big difference between the top five and everybody else really and, as it turned out, it just showed out," he said.
"But I am happy with the way I played, I did everything I could which is all you can do. In games like that you can only do what your opponent lets you do."
Moody's Olympic Games lasted just 31 minutes, being beaten 21-9, 21-11 by Jin in the opening round of the men's singles. But he was still a star turn at the Northland Badminton Centre on Monday, where he was watching the New Zealand under-19 team tackle their Australian counterparts in the second round of the Pan Pacific Under-19 Challenge.
New Zealand lost, a defeat that sees them lose the three rubber series to Australia after they lost round one on Monday night.
If Moody's challenges are anything to go by though, it won't dent their enthusiasm.
Moody is already planning his next big mission: winning a place in the Commonwealth Games team for Delhi, India, in two years' time.
"I have just had a break and will reset some goals going forward to Delhi. The last two years have been pretty draining. I have been away seven months of the year training and competing, doing 20-25 tournaments a year. It's going to be a pretty quiet next few months for me, really just working out how to perform well in Delhi," he said.
In the meantime, Moody will play in the North Harbour International tournament in Takapuna tomorrow and is preparing to defend the Trans-Tasman White Trophy before heading to Scotland to play in the world mixed teams championships next year.
"The big goal is Delhi. At the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, I had a fantastic time. It was just amazing the amount of interest in China too and, in Delhi, I can't see it being any different," he said.