Badminton: Parting brings silver sorrow

For Daniel Shirley and Sara Runesten Petersen the Games was their last international tournament together. Picture / Herald On Sunday

It was a strange feeling for Dan Shirley - win a silver medal at mixed doubles badminton: joy. Wave goodbye to partner Sara Runesten Petersen: sad. Find a new partner: forlorn.

As Runesten Petersen and Shirley celebrated their medal from the finals, it was obvious that things felt a little flat. It is well known that this is their last international tournament together before Runesten Petersen returns to her native Denmark in May.

Less well known is that Shirley, still a fine player and highly ranked in doubles, does not have a replacement for his great friend and teammate.

New Zealand badminton is well served with up-and-coming singles players but doubles is a different game - different angles, different shots, different approach. Mixed doubles players of international level are hard to find. None are on the horizon - and Shirley has been searching hard.

"One of the reasons I play badminton is to show youngsters that it is possible to play good badminton while in New Zealand," he said.

"But it's a shame, there just don't seem to be many doubles players coming along. Because it's such a different game, you have to make a decision quite young to play mixed doubles - and it doesn't seem to be happening."

So Shirley doesn't know what he will do to replace Runesten Petersen.

His men's doubles partner, John Gordon, will be out for up to five months with the injury that pulled the pin on their medal chances in Melbourne.

But if Shirley's future is vague at present, it is well defined for the popular Runesten Petersen.

Her bouncy personality and success with Shirley has been a feature of the badminton team.

But their silver is the only one accrued by the team - they were charged with winning two - and with Runesten Petersen going and some other retirements in the wind, the sport may now go through a rebuilding phase after a stellar year in 2005.

Runesten Petersen was feeling the pull of home and family yesterday but this was a well-heralded departure and these two great mates will say their real goodbyes when the microphones and notebooks have gone.

"It means a lot to NZ badminton and it means a lot to us," she said of the silver medal after being defeated by gold medal favourites Gail Emms and Nathan Robertson in the final.

"I love New Zealand, I love the country and the people and I'll be coming back to see everyone," she said, glancing at Shirley, her long-time friend and whose family have become hers in New Zealand.

It would be nice to report also that they challenged strongly for gold in their swansong.

But Emms and Robertson were too accomplished and won the second game going away, 21-17, 21-10. Emms was strong in smash and deft at the net and Robertson's clever crosscourt shots turned important points.

But if the objective of sport is to win, then Runesten Petersen and Shirley have done so - yesterday's silver was added to his three previous bronze medals from the 2002 and 1998 Commonwealth Games and their joint world championships bronze last year.

"I thought I was always going to be a bronze boy," he said. "It's nice to have a silver."

Runesten Petersen had two bronze and a silver (from the women's doubles in Manchester, 2002) as well as the world championships bronze.

But sport runs a bit deeper than that.

One of the byproducts is that, after years of striving, training and achieving, many sportspeople find they have emerged even better people than when they started.

In that, people like Dan Shirley and Sara Runesten Petersen have won every time.