Badminton: Hopefuls put up cash for Games bid

By TERRY MADDAFORD

Left with what national coach Graeme Robson tagged as "unfinished business" after the 1998 Commonwealth Games, many of New Zealand's best badminton players have thrown their enthusiasm - and money - into an ambitious comeback bid.

Nine players, all but one from the national squad, leave this weekend for Europe on a four-month training and playing tournament culminating in the world championships in Spain in late May.

Rebecca and Nicole Gordon, John Gordon, Dan Shirley, Lianne Shirley, Chris Blair, Andrew Haliday, Renee Flavell and non-squad member Craig Cooper will spend a month at the French National Badminton Centre and three weeks in Germany.

"The French are especially keen to have our players there as we are slightly better than them," said Robson, who will not accompany the players for the early part of their tour but will join them in time for the world championships.

They will play seven tournaments as part of the tour which is being partly funded by the Sports Foundation.

The players are chipping in up to $8000-$9000 each.

"This tour is critical in our build-up towards next year's Commonwealth Games," said Robson, who has mixed feelings about the decision to revert to a mixed team event rather than the individual men's and women's teams who played in Kuala Lumpur in 1998.

New Zealand's top players Rhona Robertson, Tammy Jenkins, Nick Hall and Geoff Bellingham will complete their preparations for the world championships in Seville by playing the Counties and North Harbour opens before joining the young guns.