Badminton: Kiwi pair take world bronze

ANAHEIM - The run of Dan Shirley and Sara Runesten-Petersen has come to an end in the semifinals of the mixed doubles at the world badminton championships in Anaheim.

Even the support of badminton powerhouse Denmark could not quite help the Kiwi pair as they finished as bronze medallists after being beaten by 11th seeds Zhongbo Xie and Yawen Zhang from China 15-8, 15-8 in the semis.

Shirley and Runesten-Petersen had plenty of cheering from the Kiwi team during their match but the Danes, who claim badminton as their own, quickly joined in to support Danish born Runesten-Petersen.

"The Kiwi support was just great. They helped us all the way in the tournament. I had my family here as well from Denmark and then all the Danish contingent supported us. They want to claim the medal, but no way, it's for me and New Zealand," said Runesten-Petersen.

In the semis the Kiwis were always playing catch up in the 43-minute match as their opponents jumped to a 3-0 lead in the first game and 5-0 in the second.

The Chinese pair hit 14 smash winners compared with the Kiwis' nine and won 51 rallies while their opponents' won 36.

However, it was unforced errors which really hampered the New Zealand combination. They made 36 unforced errors while their opponents had just 24.

"It was a tough match," said Shirley. "The Chinese applied pressure and forced us into mistakes. I'm disappointed with the loss, but happy to have a medal."

- NZPA