Badminton: Winning not on agenda just now

By Suzanne McFadden

It's not often that a New Zealand coach wants his team to lose.

But New Zealand badminton coach Graeme Robson was satisfied to see his national side fall 1-7 to China B in the first of four tests in Auckland yesterday.

"We want to be beaten," he said. And he meant it in the nicest possible way.

Robson has brought the Chinese squad here to tune the New Zealanders for their big event of the year, the defence of the Whyte Trophy in Australia this month.

"We haven't paid $30,000 to bring the Chinese here so we can beat them," he said. "The situation we are in, if we are winning it's not worthwhile. Our sport hasn't got a time or distance to measure ourselves against. The only way to improve is to play against somebody who is better than us.

"The Chinese are the perfect standard - they are just that little bit out of our reach."

Robson said he was surprised that the New Zealanders stole a match in the first test at Waitakere yesterday - Geoff Bellingham winning the second men's singles from Yu Yang 15-7, 15-2.

"But I'm hopeful that by this time next week, we might get a couple of matches off them."

The Chinese side are the next tier down from the national squad who won the world teams title this year, but they include two world junior champions.

New Zealand were still buoyed by their efforts yesterday.

Top women's singles player Li Feng played her first match since the Commonwealth Games last year - now on the trail back from knee surgery.

She had some exhilarating rallies with Tang Chunjue, losing the first game 9-11, but her lack of match fitness told in the second, when she went down 3-11.

Nick Hall got the better of Luo Xilin in the opening game of the men's singles clash of the day, winning 17-14 after some long exhausting tussles.

Luo fought back to take the second, 15-13, and waltzed in 15-1 in the decider.

China have already taught the New Zealanders well in the past week, through daily practice sessions. They gave New Zealand a similar run-around in the build-up to the Kiwis' historic Whyte Trophy victory in 1997.

New Zealand will slightly alter their team for tomorrow night's second test in Hamilton, throwing in younger singles players to glean experience.

The home side will have chances to steal a couple more matches from their teachers at North Harbour on Friday night and Auckland next Sunday.