Pair retain mixed doubles title

Wanganui District Council chief executive Kevin Ross joined long-time partner Robyn Kinnear (Auckland) in retaining their mixed doubles title in the badminton at the New Zealand Masters Games on Saturday.

The pair headed off Levin's Pat Hesketh and Auckland's Kris Fleury-White in the final.

Of Laotian descent, Canberra couple Khonsawth and Lani Jaiyawong took out the 35-and-over gold medals in a hectic play-off involving Grant Demeneche (Paraparaumu) and Pam Geard (Christchurch).

The Jaiyawongs were one of two successful partnerships which netted gold with little practice.

Even though married, they have played badminton as a pairing just twice, the second time at these games.

Some interesting statistics from the badminton paint a picture of a subculture that is not only as young as they feel but also up with the times. The average age from the 120 competitors was 54 quite high for participation in a speed sport.

Of these, 86 per cent of them registered online to take part, well above the overall Masters Games average of about 70 per cent.