Badminton: Olympic disappointment yields mixed results

By SUZANNE McFADDEN

New Zealand's badminton stars reacted in contrasting ways yesterday to missing out on their Olympic dreams.

Geoff Bellingham ignored the disappointment and roared through the men's singles field in the North Island championships at North Harbour.

In the final, he crushed John Gordon in two games.

But mixed doubles pair Tammy Jenkins and Daniel Shirley felt the weight of their Olympic exclusion and failed to reach the final of their specialist event yesterday.

Jenkins and Shirley, who paid their way around the world trying to qualify for the Sydney Games, found out on Friday that they had got as far as No 5 on the reserve list.

They still have a slim chance of getting a last-minute invitation, but will have to wait until the end of July to find out if they are going to Sydney.

The pair were beaten in the semifinals by Bellingham and Rhona Robertson, who went on to take the title.

Jenkins' day did improve when she teamed with Robertson to win the women's doubles in a feisty encounter with sisters Rebecca and Nicole Gordon.

Aucklander Larissa Kishore outplayed her second seeding to win the women's singles from Rebecca Gordon.