The Men’s Badminton 1sts got off to a near perfect start to the BUCS season with a 7-1 win over the University of Leeds Men’s 2nd team.
Team President Andrew Henderson began with a decisive victory over Leeds’ second singles player winning 21-10 and then 21-8 to finish in 2 ends. Men’s Captain Micky Murtagh just lost out to the Leeds first player in a tense three-end match 15-21, 21-19, and finally 19-21.
In the doubles matches, after a tight first end which they won 23-21, Jay Lee and Hazrul Muhammed provided York with another two end victory after a more comfortable 21-15 score in the second end. As one of the new pairings created due to the high level of team graduation in the previous academic year, this obviously compatible duo are a promising sign for the future of the team. Another new pairing formed from first years, Oli Hoult and James Southwell, excelled in their first BUCS appearance, winning their first match 21-16, 21-14.
In the second round of matches, Henderson continued to demonstrate his singles ability, seeing out the Leeds first player 21-14, 21-15, who was clearly exhausted after dealing with Murtagh’s fitness level in his first match. In the last singles fixture of the day, despite losing the first end 19-21, Murtagh came back and outplayed his opponent in the second two ends to win 21-12,21-15.
Although guaranteed a win, York continued their excellent play for the final two doubles matches. With Lee showing some impressive power-play from the back of the court and Muhammad showing his dominance at the net, they won their second match 21-14, 21-16.
In the final match for the 1st team, Hoult and Southwell performed well to win their first end 21-13, but Leeds fought back in the second to win a tightly fought contest, 22-24. In the third end, however, Hoult and Southwell returned to their first end form to win the match 21-14 and clinch the 7-1 victory for York.
The Men’s 2nd team also excelled in their first BUCS match of the season, winning 7-1 against the University of Leeds Men’s 3rd Team.
Singles player Rolf Choutan kicked off the matches with a strong 21-13 first end and finished the match with an outstanding 21-8 second end. It was then the turn of captain George Baines to take on the Leeds first player, giving York another convincing win, 21-9, 21-13.
In the doubles, David Gardner and Marc Dickinson got off to a shaky start with a 16-21 defeat in the first end. However, they fought back in the second for a convincing 21-13 win and continued their good form to take the third end by the same score. Second doubles pair JunChuen Tan and Al Qasyaff Zainal had the hard task of playing the Leeds first pair and were, unfortunately, dominated in the first end, losing 13-21. The tables were turned in the second end though, with the pair powering through their opponents, aided by Zainal’s strong smash, to win 21-8. This seemed to be a turning point in the match. However, in the third end, Leeds proved too strong for the new York pair and once again beat them 13-21.
In the second round of matches, Choutan continued to show his singles ability, this time against the Leeds first player, with a confident 21-10, 21-19 victory. Baines also proved to be a powerful opponent in the first end, winning 21-11. In the second, Baines and the Leeds second player were far more closely matched, with Baines managing to clinch it at the end for a 21-16 victory.
Back in the doubles, Gardner and Dickinson began what captain Baines described as the match of the day, suffering a decisive defeat in the first end, 13-21, and it appeared that they were to be overpowered. However, as the second end began, the score was very close, with Gardner and Dickinson pulling away from Leeds to secure a 21-18 win. Gardner and Dickinson continued to excel in the third end, beating the strong Leeds pair 21-18 to solidify the win for York. Zainal and Tan finished the day with a 21-15, 21-18 victory to secure the 7-1 win.
Baines was very proud of his team’s performance, “especially so early in the season, before people have a chance to get settled, it is great to get such a solid result. The opposition really made us work, forcing us to play our best.”
However, the day had mixed fortunes for the Men’s Badminton Team with the 3rds suffering a loss away in Durham, in a number of tight matches. For the majority of the players, this was their first experience representing the university at badminton and captain David Hamilton thinks that, with the week ahead to train, the team can make a strong comeback next week against Northumbria University.
Overall, the Men’s Badminton Team were very happy with their start to what promises to be an exciting season. Men’s Captain, Micky Murtagh, added “I’m extremely proud of our whole team, in particular the freshers, who all played superbly in their first BUCS match. Our doubles pairs are gelling brilliantly and our singles players are constantly improving, so, if we continue at this rate, we should go a long way towards pushing for promotion and securing York a top 40 finish.”