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Day 13 September 12th
Men's Doubles ends it all for Ireland.
Men's doubles today with John Kelly & Jim Lawlor v Karpov & Efermov (Russia); the Irish men pretty much knew who the winners would be as the past record went in Russian favour. Some long rallies but the number 4 seeds had incredible power and defence that moved the shuttle about and duly won the game at 21-8, 21-9
The Irish rushed to a 21-8 and it looked bad making many mistakes, but the second game they came alive and caught the Russians off guards at times. Anything short, Kelly was driving back and taking total control of the net but the lack of team work and nerves got to Lawlor and Kelly as they lost in the second set.
The Russian duos are through the semi finals.
Disappointed Lawlor said "the Russians didn't let us play our game, they were too strong. Their standards were very high as they only made two mistakes giving us points whereas we made a lot of errors giving away points-they got every shot- high, drop or back"
Coach Mark Topping said "the players listened to me and Coach Laura and did their best, I am delighted for them and I really enjoyed the games throughout the Deaflympics"
"The players worked hard over the last year and put huge efforts and commitment in it, especially the two young girls travelling from the north to Dublin every week, and they upped their games in the Deaflympics playing with the top 8th players out of 59 players. On the whole they did their best" says badminton coach Laura Higgins
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Day 12 Septmeber 11th
Ladies Doubles
Teenage girls Amy and Laura took on Lithuanian ladies in the first round they were demonstrating good team work and both showed some great poise in their second set as their last Deaflympics game but lost out at 21-3 and 21-5. However both are going home smiling as Amy says "the experience of the Deaflympics as a whole has been phenomenal and I am glad I got the chance to play with top players, I can excel from today to my future in badminton"
Mixed Doubles
John Kelly and Laura Burns took on Yu and Choi of Korea in the first round of the mixed doubles this morning, which proved to be tough as the Koreans were in superb physical shape and demonstrated an almost perfect defensive technique.
Burns and Kelly lost at 21-5, 21-6, however the score line did not reflect on the quality of the rallies on show. Both Irish players combined really well with Burns showing great composure at the net and taking on the Korean lady at the net with some very accurate blocks to the net. These exchanges meant that the Korean lady was forced to lift, something she was quite comfortable to do because of her great backhand defensive technique. Whereas Kelly was able to control the rallies with powerful smashes and drop shots but the Korean's defences proved too hard to beat as they could move the shuttle to any point on the court.
Kelly and Lawlor were given a walk over in men's doubles gainst Czech Zeman & Vohrska as they didn't turn up which means the irish players are through the next round playing with Russia tomorrow.
Later on Jim Lawlor and Amy Mc Millan received a by the second round of the mixed doubles where they faced the Korean number 2 seeds- Seonhwa Song and Hyunwoo
This was a tough draw for the Irish but both battled hard against quicker opponents but lost in two straight sets 21-5, 21-6. The match was summed up well when Amy played one of her tight blocks to the net but the Korean lady demonstrated a great skill by taking a difficult shot and tumbling the shuttle back tight over the net and for the shuttle to land on the outside edge to the tramline.
Mc Millan says "I had shoulder strain in the ladies doubles but after treatment it was much better, it was hard battling against the Koreans but we did well playing against a team favourite to win a medal"
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Day 11 September 10th
Singles Tournament
Ladies singles
Laura Burns was very nervous playing with Babalova (Slovakia) playing many smashes into the net but when she found her ground, she made sure those shuttles went away. A good performance with Laura folioing everything through the net but the Slovakian Champion read the game quickly and won at 21-9, 21-10.
Amy Mc Millan's game with Kazakhstan player, Urazaliyeva turned out to be a good game, with some nice net shots, but the Kaz player drops and slices were good leaving Mc Millan nowhere to be seen. The tight net shots in reply meant strong sham to finish point at 21-3, 21-7. Both played well and moved the shuttle about and moving well left Coach Higgins applauding at Amy's performance.
Men's singles
Jim Lawlor took the court against Alexander Hurley (Great Britain), an excellent match played in a very sportsmanlike way. An example being when Lawlor hit a shot to the back of the line that landed in but was given out in error by the lines judge. However Hurley overruled both the line judge and Umpire by hitting the shuttle back to Kim and indicating that the shuttle was good- a great gesture of sportsmanship!
Lawlor played his best match of the tournament so far as he played flawless in the first set by making his opponent visit all four corners of his court and retrieving his opponents powerful smashes with some very tight blocks back to the net- Lawlor took first set at 21-14
As 2nd set came, it was crucial as Hurley upped the speed in his game and took an important 2 to 3 point lead which he never relinquished. Hurley ran out 21-14 winner in this set, but Lawlor continued to play some high quality singles in the brutal heat on the court.
As the 3rd set followed the pattern of the 2nd set with Hurley opening up a 2 to 3 point gap in the opening exchanges saw Lawlor struggling to maintain his previously flawless length in his clears. Hurley took the 3rd set at 21-14 but Lawlor is proud of his performance against the GB player, both provided some high quality play.
Louth man, John Kelly took the court against Indonesia man, Rohman running out at 21-16, 21-14 winner of two fantastic sets. Kelly displayed huge concentration skills and no means Badminton skill to battle a fast and young opponent in the 30 degrees conditions, however Kelly rallied his opponent to the four corners and used his strong smashes down the lines to great effect. This was Kelly's best match of the Deaflympics so far.
Kelly says "with the hot conditions in here there were times it felt like there was no room to breathe after long rallies but I gave it my all and I enjoyed it"
Tomorrow the Badminton team faces the Doubles: Kelly and Burns up first against Korean players who won the team events.
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Day 10 September 9th
Individual Tournament
The Irish Deaf team commenced the men and ladies singles today at Taipei Gymnastic Sport centre.
First up was Amy Mc Millan on court at 9am against Klopp (Germany) seeded number 5 in the tournament. Mc Millan started slowly against the powerful Klopp and lost the first set at 21-3 however Mc Millan started to move her opponent in the second set with good clears to the corners and more accurate smashes down the side even so Klopp proved too consistent and took the second set 21-7.
The first round of Deaflympics singles events is played on a round robin basis and so Mc Millan plays Urazaliyeva from Kazakhstan tomorrow at 9am local time
John Kelly received a walk over in his 1st round robin match as his Kazakhstan opponent had a foot injury therefore meant Kelly only had to play his second match today at 16.40pm (local time)
Laura Burns's first match was against current World number 1 and number 1 seed in the Deaflympics, Kristina Dovydaityte from Lithuania, and this was Laura's best match at the tournament so far, strong clears and powerful smashing ensured that her opponent had to be on her guard. The 21-4, 21-5 score line did not do justice to the number of good long rallies that the world number one edged Laura out.
In her final, Laura plays Babalova from Slovakia in her final must win group match tomorrow. The top two from the group must qualify for the knockout stages commencing on Friday (11th). Dovydaite is already through from the group havening beaten Babalova earlier today so Laura's match against Babalova is a winner take all match.
Next up was Jim Lawlor against Anderson of Denmark seeded number 2 in the Deaflympics, Lawlor played well was up against an opponent who moved very well on the court and possessed good deception to the final score 21-4,21-5
The last game of the day was Kelly against world ranked number 26, Mueller of Switzerland, and Kelly got off on a bad start hence quickly lost the first set 21-4 but he upped the tempo in the second set and put more pressure on Mueller leading 11-10 at the break, however Mueller reasserted his authority and went on to win 21-14
Both Lawlor and Kelly must win matches against though opponents tomorrow to ensure to qualify from the group stages. Lawlor plays Hurley from Great Britain and Kelly plays with Indonesia player, Rohman.
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Day 8 September 7th
A win in 3rd group place!
Ireland did really well battling with their fellow European competitors in the group, Austria. Ireland had a fantastic 3 matches to 2 matches win. Austria had to concede two matches due to an injury to one of their ladies.
In the men's singles John Kelly played well but just lost out to Austrian player Robert Gravogl at 21-18, 21-17.
Austria, one of the top Ladies singles player Katrin Neudolt and Laura Burns played. Neudolt proved too strong for the nervous Burns winning 2 sets to love. Asking Neudolt on Laura's game, she says "a great player with great potential, so young but has a future if she keeps up in Badminton"
"Austrian player thrashed me but I am happy I got to play with a top player" says Laura
In the deciding men's doubles match both Irish men played superbly with some lovely rallies a mixture of attack and drop shots, which helped them claim in the 2nd/3rd set. This put the Austrians under pressure in the final set. Lawlor, a calmer player began to take control with some neat and clever shots in fighting hard to complete the match. The score was 17-21, 21-15, 21-18.
Both players have been involved in many international tournaments and the 17th Deaflympics Badminton.
Delighted Kelly says "I'm delighted we came 3rd in the group beating our European country, I am proud of how my team played in the team events"
"The fans encouraged me to do well and gave me confidence to do Ireland proud"- Jim Lawlor
"I am delighted for the team to finish 3rd in the group because the worked so hard in training up to the Deaflympics" says Mark Topping, Ireland Coach
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Day 7 September 6th
Team Events Downfall
Disappointment in the team events today as Ireland had two matches against India in the morning and Kazakhstan in the afternoon. Team events are men/ ladies Doubles, men/ladies singles and the mixed doubles.
It started with a tough match against the seeded team in the group India. India beat Ireland 5-0.
In the men's singles it was 2 sets to love as Indian Player Bhaker who skilfully managed to defeat Jim Lawlor in a hard match at 21-7, 21-7 in 15 minutes.
The ladies singles match played by Ulster Champion youngster Laura Burns to Vithika, reaching to the end 23rd minute game at a close range 21-12, 21-9 showing some brilliance around the court and fought hard in the good spirit for Ireland.
The men's doubles was also a tight match with John Kelly and Lawlor playing at a high level when they reached at 35 minutes. 2-0 for India (21-19, 21-13)
The following games Ladies doubles showed Amy Mc Millan's ability to disguise her shots over the net and was determined not to let herself and colleague Laura down. Burns demonstrated her mobility and smash power to great effect in this match. It was the first time they have played at an Olympics event and this three sets was a thriller but the final set was "one way traffic" coming in the end 2 sets to one (18-21, 21-14, 21-8)
In the Mixed Doubles the India team were too strong for Kelly and McMillan as they could not cope with the attacking shots from beginning to end. The game did not last long. The Indians won 21-6, 21-7.
In the afternoon playing new opponents Kazakhstan the determined Lawlor at Men's Singles hit deep to the baseline of the opponent's court narrowly going down in 2 sets 21-16 and 21-18.
Ladies Singles, Laura Burns had a close first set at 22-20, she clawed her way back from eleven seven down at the half way stage but lost the 2nd set 21-11
The Men's Doubles was a very tight and skilful match with Kelly and Lawlor going down 21-19 21-14.
In the Ladies Double's also an Ulster Champion Mc Millan displayed tight net shots that couldn't be returned winning few points, and Burns demonstrating powerful forehand drive shots straight down the line. The game ended 2 sets to love 21-9, 21-7 as the skilful Kazakhstan ladies asserted their authority.
Kelly demonstrating his speed of movement around the court and his ability to disguise his shots along with Mc Millan in the mixed doubles. Kelly and McMillan lost 2 sets to love. (22-20, 21-8) despite the distraction of losing 2 points through umpire error. This caused disruption and frustration in the game but both refused to give up and played some high quality mixed doubles.
Top Irish Badminton Coach Mark Topping, was disappointed that the fighting spirit of the Irish team was not translated into victories in the close matches
Kelly " a very disappointing result today, many thing went wrong, in badminton it always depends on the day no matter how much you have trained"
They face Austria tomorrow and let's hope it brings better results for the team.
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Day 6 September 5th
Top coach, Laura Higgins says her team have stepped up enormously and is happy with the progress with Kelly and Lawlor who have played with two senior 1 players before they depart for Taipei and beating them says "John is strong and aggressive in his movements while Jim has the hunger to win while the two girls are young they have mount of potential with Laura being a strong contender and Amy is fantastic in her shoots, I expect they will do well in the games ahead"
The players held their first training at Taipei Arena centre on Wednesday and Thursday and have been training intensively with a 15 minute warm up running, stretching whole body and light jogging around the hall. As usual the weather factor came up in conversation as 17 year old Laura Burns tells " temperature soars outside air conditioning are turned off inside to settle the shuttlecock to keep it extremely stable and fly off quickly off the racquet face"
Coach Higgins and Mark Topping keeps the 4 players in track with the training demonstration of fast and slow shots over the net, wrist and forearm rotation, leg movements talking through the players till they get it right. "Practicing serving making sure it accurate to fly over the net line to start the game" says Amy as she tells of her training session.
The badminton team had their first training session today (Friday) at 12.00pm (local time) 8am at the Gymnasium 7F next door to the Taipei Stadium testing out on the flooring which is of best quality using latex type instead of wooden floors
They practice team competitions and the young girls faired really well against the experienced men, Kelly and Lawlor coming close to 21-16 in doubles! "Badminton is one of the fastest racquet game and requires high levels of concentration and to be ready is important" says 14 year old Amy Mc Millan
The players require, agility, strength, speed and precision in the training and light swimming every day and rest in between, Laura comments having her father with her supporting her in her training and "just being there " have made her more determined to do well in the Games she look forward to.
Growing up with a family of badminton players and her mother being a badminton coach at Lisburn badminton club, naturally Amy's mother came along with her for some support and motivation that Amy is grateful for- "just having my mother there, getting me up in the mornings, looking after me as well as support me helps a lot"
Laura and Amy finds the Deaflympics an experience Laura says she " loving the experience, meeting new people and the team have picked up few Irish Sign Language " among the players from Football, Swimming, WaterPolo and Athletics. Amy explains she picks up Sign language along the way through lip-reading.
Team events were announced today as Kelly with coaches Topping and Higgins attended to the draw, only being put back due the computer system crashing and the Technical Director of Badminton decision to void the single events draw and reverting back to the old system- after 3 hours and rumbling tummys the trio left before the announcement of the single events as it took forever to organise the picking out of the hat system.
Ireland will be playing team events as men singles, women's singles, men doubles, ladies double and mixed doubles with India, Kazakhstan and Austria.
Asking Kelly how he feels on the team events "I am very happy to be playing with India, world class players, where as Kazakhstan are a new team to play against with, I know they were world championships with only have 1 male and 1 female on team but now they have upped to two of each and it's their first time in Deaflympics, and with Austria, coming from Europe its good have them in the group"
The team events begins at 9am (local time) on Sunday 7th, the team are looking forward to get the "bird" rolling and play competitive and the spirits are high among the team.
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Day 2 September 1st
The four people team had a lazy but bonding day starting off with an early swimming at 7.30am at our hotel’s Olympic size pool follow a warm up water aerobics tutored by Laura.
Along with the athletics, the badminton team went to visit the Tower 101, World Tallest Building and to the national museum. John Kelly says “today was all about getting to know each other in a new country, having a laugh and team bonding, seeing happy faces is important to the pre games”
“Tomorrow will hit us with the reality of the Deaflympics as we start the training sessions” says Kelly who the most experience player on the four member team playing at the previous 17 Deaflympics games in Sofia, Bulgaria 1993 coming 8 overall and is keen to make amends this time around with the new “confident and strong team”