Badminton coach hopeful of improvement at Commonwealth Games
Published:Saturday | June 18, 2022 | 12:09 AMOrane Buchanan/ Staff Reporter
NATIONAL badminton representatives Samuel Ricketts, Katherine Wynter and Tahlia Richardson, fresh off their recent participation at the XXI Badminton Santo Domingo International Open over the weekend, are fine-tuning preparations ahead of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England.
The 21-year old Ricketts suffered a quarter-final exit, losing to eventual winner Misha Zilberman 21-11, 21-13. Zilberman is a three-time Olympic representative and the first Israeli player to win a medal at the European Badminton Championships.
Wynter, who represented the country in the women’s singles event, suffered a round of 16 exit following a 21-8, 21-7 defeat by American Disha Gupta.
In the women’s doubles event, the pair of Wynter and Richardson was ousted in the round of 16, losing two sets to one, 21-18, 21-19, 21-19 to the local Dominican Republic duo of Nairoby Jiminez and Clarissa Pie.
Howard Ranger, the head coach of the national team, is now preparing his charges for the Commonwealth Games.
“I have three of the four players - Katherine Wynter, Tahlia Richardson and Joel Angus in training. They have been in training with me at the G.C. Foster College where they are being conditioned properly, and we are also working on their skills and that is coming on quite well,” he said.
Badminton at the 2022 Commonwealth Games will begin on July 28 and will run until August 8.