What was all the fuss about? Who had the naivety to actually believe that the result would be different? How silly we all felt actually believing Duncan Shadie may have had a chance at bringing that red velvet sash, that he himself made from the curtains of his London flat, back to antipodean shores. Thirteen days in what remained of North London following the riots, Toby Short convincingly beat Duncan Shadie in straight sets 15-9, 15-5.
Yet there was a glimmer. Early on in the opening game, the concentrated face of Toby Short, if not fazed showed for a moment that maybe today things would be different and that indeed the president of the Authority had perhaps done enough training mentally and physically to cause the upset. Yet no, Shadie held the champion close to evens up to about the nine point mark, but that was about it . Obvious to the crowd, Toby looked the less fussed of the two, he easily gained the upper hand as Duncan struggled to keep up. Where every point scored by the Australian looked to come at great cost and exertion, Short's scoring opportunities seemed to come from the merest of touches... And so the match proceeded, the straight sets win was over all too quickly. In minutes The world Championship, it was clear, would be residing in London upon the shoulders of the tiny, tiny frame of Toby Short. Having hardly touched a cock for two years, it was clear that the his skills in the "other code" continued to be a force on the handminton court. Toby looked as if he hadn't lost one bit of his determined competitiveness or full court coverage that has enabled him to be the only player in handminton to have maintained an undefeated recorded for any serious length of time.
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| the diminutive champion |
Questions will inevitably have to be asked at Handminton Australia and the WHA. It was embarassingly clear that Duncan was no great hurdle for the champ, and the board at Handminton Australia must ask themselves if he was the right person to be sent on this European jaunt to play the best of the best. From the end of that second set the Handminton ether went into overdrive with one question, why had John Leary not been offered the chance? while the European Tour had been in the pipeworks for months it has been clear for months that Leary is the benchmark in Australia. Would the result have been any different? hard to know but also hard to argue with the fact that really this is the world championship match the ether wanted to see. Talk is already being made of an expanded European Tour for 2012, already Handminton Australia have spoken of the desire to send a larger contingent of players next year. Unfortunately for us 'minton maniacs it is only then that we may finally see the worlds best play off. --------------------------------------
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| "chile" |
The WHA would like to acknowledge the contribution "Chile" has made to the game. Returning to Chile this week, the South American brought an unpredictable flair to wednesday nights often resulting in some of the most exciting match ups on the card. Good luck on your return mate, hoping you keep up the 'minton.
With the weather in Sydney improving it seems as if a return to midweek is close. The elite in Sydney have already started chomping at the bit, with the WHA now assessing when best to resume Wednesday night proceedings. With rumours of a format change to the weekly events, the next session of play will surely be more exciting than ever.
