New Zealand's Gordon enjoys playing in Indonesia<\/p>\n
Eva C. Komandjaja, Jakarta<\/p>\n
New Zealand's Thomas Cup badminton team may have been defeated
\nbut Kiwi singles player John Gordon deserved praise for his
\nwinning run to steal one point in the team's 4-1 defeat by
\nGermany.<\/p>\n
Being only a newcomer to this competition, the team was well
\naware of its prospects.<\/p>\n
\"It's very disappointing that we lost the series, but we
\ndidn't have any plan (to win) the Thomas Cup anyway, so I just
\nenjoyed the game,\" Gordon said after he defeated Marc Zwiebler of
\nGermany 15-9, 15-0 on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Against Germany and South Africa in Group B, New Zealand is
\nexpected to finish third, giving it a difficult match against
\neither China or Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Other foreign players may have complained about the noisy
\nIndonesian audience during their games but Gordon said he grew to
\nlike it.<\/p>\n
\"I think it's great to play in front of an audience like
\nthis,\" he said. This is his second time in Indonesia and he
\nlikes playing here.<\/p>\n
Gordon hails from Rotorua, a city two and a half-hours away
\nfrom the country's biggest city, Auckland.<\/p>\n
He started playing badminton at the age of 12. His mother used
\nto play badminton and that was how he got interested.<\/p>\n
\"Badminton is a great fast game. It is very rewarding to hear
\nthe cheering crowd when you score a point. I used to play soccer
\nand cricket when I was still at school, but cricket was far too
\nslow for me, I'd rather play badminton,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"When I was 18, I moved to Auckland because I wanted to join
\nthe badminton clubs there and I managed to get into the national
\nteam,\" Gordon said.<\/p>\n
Gordon began playing doubles in 2000 and met his partner
\nDaniel Shirley. They both enjoyed winning runs in small badminton
\ntournaments.<\/p>\n
Badminton was not a popular game in New Zealand, he said. Most
\npeople preferred to play other sports such as cricket, rugby and
\nsoccer. There were few badminton clubs in the country and only
\n12,000 people were registered players compared its population of
\nabout 4 million people.<\/p>\n
When asked about his future career as badminton player, Gordon
\nsaid he would quit badminton as soon as he graduated from
\nuniversity and found a job. He is currently studying law at the
\nUniversity of Auckland and will do his masters degree in
\ncommerce.<\/p>\n
\"I will graduate in 2006, and by that time I will probably
\nquit playing badminton,\" he said, adding that he wanted to become
\na lawyer.<\/p>",
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