Badminton: NZers off to flying start

Rebecca Bellingham in action today. Picture / Chris Skelton

New Zealand cruised through their first pool match in the Commonwealth Games badminton competition with a 5-0 win over Kenya today.

The five matches took a tick over two hours as all New Zealand lineups had straight sets victories.

Men's doubles pair Geoff Bellingham and Craig Cooper were the most comfortable, dispatching Daniel Opondo and Fred Gituku 21-4 21-3.

Mixed doubles combination Dan Shirley and Sara Runesten Petersen completed the rout with a 21-3 21-5 win over Victor Odera and Anna Nganga.

New Zealand play two more pool matches tomorrow against Jamaica and Uganda before the big match against Australia on Saturday.

New Zealand's Rebecca Bellingham has beaten Irene Kerimah of Kenya in her first womens singles match 21-6, 21-6.

- NZPA