Metal Head
10th August 2008, 12:05 AM
There's nothing a Pom likes better than is to heap s--t on the Aussies. So here is an article taken from a leading British newspaper today. However he was caught out by an Aussie stating that he had got the score wrong when it actually was 21/9 21/16:wink::D. Go Aussies - Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi
After 32 minutes, Beijing 2008's first loser
<O>It had to be somebody, the question was who. The first loser of the Olympic Games made it just 32 minutes into the first day before she had to pack her kit bag and head home to the athlete's village. The badminton arena was the venue for this ignominious little slice of Olympic history. With play in simultaneous progress on all three of its courts, the start time of each match staggered in 10-minute intervals, one of six women would be the first to experience the pats on the back and the well-meant mutters of "unlucky" and "well-played". I was just hoping the loser didn't come from the first match, between Germany's Julianne Schenk and Indonesia's Maria Yulianti, as neither seemed to be a likely source of good material given my complete inability to speak either language. For a while it looked as though I'd have to attempt an interview in universal sign language, what with Yulianti losing the first set. Fortunately for me, an unfortunate Australian was being given a badminton lesson on the next court, conceding her first set 21-6 in the same time it took Yulianti to lose hers, despite the 10-minute head-start. It had to be somebody, and it was Erin Carroll, a 22-year-old Australian from the town of Ballarat, Victoria. It was just 9.32am local time when Spain's Yoana Martinez struck a match-winning smash into the back left corner and ended Carroll's Olympics before most other competitors had even begun. Covering the first loser in the Games seemed a grizzly task, especially when most folk are still tucked up in bed recovering from the monumental night before. Carroll though took my odious question - "how does it feel to be the first person to be knocked out?" - in good humour. Understandably so perhaps, given that she's not competing in any of the doubles events but is staying on till the end of the Games, meaning she has two weeks to do what she says are her three favourite things - "Shopping, eating and watching sport". Carroll, a stocky brunette, had missed out on a spot in the original Australian team, but snuck in later on when some spaces were reallocated by the International Badminton Federation. She's only been playing the sport at the top level for a couple of years, so she really was happy just to have taken part rather than won. Which is something I didn't think was ever true of Australians. Leaning over the barrier railing, grinning, sweating, Carroll clearly wasn't too happy about how she'd played. The Spaniard had really thrashed her, tucking into her serve with relish. Carroll's longest run on serve was just three points, and in all she won just eight points while in possession of the shuttlecock. Ah well. She was still enthralled by the experience of playing in this vast domed arena in front of the large, loud and appreciative crowd.
She will, she told me, carry on training while her team-mates are still in the competition. I didn't quite believe that, so I asked again, and she admitted "Yeah, well actually I'll probably become their feeder, make up for the diets the rest of them are on". Bright-eyed, she disappeared into the changing room, anticipating the coming two weeks of fun and high on the Olympic spirit. If you're going to lose, my advice is to do it early.
After 32 minutes, Beijing 2008's first loser
<O>It had to be somebody, the question was who. The first loser of the Olympic Games made it just 32 minutes into the first day before she had to pack her kit bag and head home to the athlete's village. The badminton arena was the venue for this ignominious little slice of Olympic history. With play in simultaneous progress on all three of its courts, the start time of each match staggered in 10-minute intervals, one of six women would be the first to experience the pats on the back and the well-meant mutters of "unlucky" and "well-played". I was just hoping the loser didn't come from the first match, between Germany's Julianne Schenk and Indonesia's Maria Yulianti, as neither seemed to be a likely source of good material given my complete inability to speak either language. For a while it looked as though I'd have to attempt an interview in universal sign language, what with Yulianti losing the first set. Fortunately for me, an unfortunate Australian was being given a badminton lesson on the next court, conceding her first set 21-6 in the same time it took Yulianti to lose hers, despite the 10-minute head-start. It had to be somebody, and it was Erin Carroll, a 22-year-old Australian from the town of Ballarat, Victoria. It was just 9.32am local time when Spain's Yoana Martinez struck a match-winning smash into the back left corner and ended Carroll's Olympics before most other competitors had even begun. Covering the first loser in the Games seemed a grizzly task, especially when most folk are still tucked up in bed recovering from the monumental night before. Carroll though took my odious question - "how does it feel to be the first person to be knocked out?" - in good humour. Understandably so perhaps, given that she's not competing in any of the doubles events but is staying on till the end of the Games, meaning she has two weeks to do what she says are her three favourite things - "Shopping, eating and watching sport". Carroll, a stocky brunette, had missed out on a spot in the original Australian team, but snuck in later on when some spaces were reallocated by the International Badminton Federation. She's only been playing the sport at the top level for a couple of years, so she really was happy just to have taken part rather than won. Which is something I didn't think was ever true of Australians. Leaning over the barrier railing, grinning, sweating, Carroll clearly wasn't too happy about how she'd played. The Spaniard had really thrashed her, tucking into her serve with relish. Carroll's longest run on serve was just three points, and in all she won just eight points while in possession of the shuttlecock. Ah well. She was still enthralled by the experience of playing in this vast domed arena in front of the large, loud and appreciative crowd.
She will, she told me, carry on training while her team-mates are still in the competition. I didn't quite believe that, so I asked again, and she admitted "Yeah, well actually I'll probably become their feeder, make up for the diets the rest of them are on". Bright-eyed, she disappeared into the changing room, anticipating the coming two weeks of fun and high on the Olympic spirit. If you're going to lose, my advice is to do it early.