Having lost their first two BUCS matches this season after coming so close to promotion last year, the men’s badminton 1sts had understandably low morale going into their tie against Sheffield Hallam.
Their previous two defeats, against Leeds Met and Manchester (the top two sides in the league) was a chastening wake up call for captain Baillie Watterson and his team. Men’s 2nds captain John Sinclair explained their current predicament: “From last year, we have lost seven out of the top ten players due to graduation, so it is really a season of transition. We are fighting to stay up.”
Therefore, it was understandable that against Hallam, Watterson unashamedly set their team up for a draw. Realising that it would be very difficult to beat Hallam in the singles, he put the strongest players together for the doubles, hoping that the matches would balance out evenly. It was not an auspicious start by York, singles players Jun Chuen and Dan Hirst losing their first two matches, although Chuen really ran his opponent close in the latter stages. Yet Hallam’s 2-0 lead was pegged back as doubles pair Jonty Hiley and Andy Henderson narrowly beat their opponents 21-18 and 21-17, before Watterson and Tom Dainty levelled proceedings, pressing home their advantage with a 21-17 and 21-11 win.
With the scores level, Chuen and Hirst played their second round of singles. Both lost, making the overall score 4-2, but they were much improved, especially Hirst, who ran Hallam’s best player really close, eventually falling to defeat 21-18 and 21-8.
It was left to the doubles pairings to fulfill Watterson’s plan in the final two games. In a display of nerve and excellent hitting, both pairs won their games comfortably, ensuring York’s first point of the season in a 4-4 draw. Watterson was understandably elated with his team’s performance, saying “I am ecstatic that we got the draw. In reality, we weren’t going to win any singles games, so my tactics worked. We are all absolutely delighted with our first point of the season.”