Golden couple seek silver lining and there is no place like home

Discussion in 'German Open / All England / Swiss Open 2005' started by kwun, Mar 4, 2005.

  1. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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    Golden couple seek silver lining and there is no place like home


    Robertson and Emms can erase Olympic agony at badminton's Wimbledon
    By Mike Rowbottom

    The Independent

    05 March 2005


    Halfway down the stairs at the Badminton Association's Milton Keynes HQ there is a glass cabinet containing the rackets with which Gillian Gowers secured her place in the annals of the All-England Championships - the singles title in 1978 and, two years before that, a clean sweep of singles, doubles and mixed doubles.

    The discreetly placed display offers Nathan Robertson and Gail Emms, Britain's Olympic mixed doubles silver medallists, a little daily reminder about deeds still to be done on home soil as they move about in the facility which serves as their main training base.

    Their efforts in Athens may have made them the most successful players in the history of the British game, but when they take to the court at Birmingham's National Indoor Arena on Wednesday they will be under pressure to give a good showing in a tournament where they have yet to make a significant impact.

    The All-England Championships will offer the British public their first chance to see the Olympic silver medallists taking on world-class opposition - the field includes the Chinese pair who defeated them 15-1, 12-15, 15-12 in the final in Athens, Zhang Jun and Gao Ling.

    It was six years ago that Britain last provided a home winner at the Championships, Simon Archer and Joanne Goode, who went on to win the Olympic bronze in Sydney.

    Matching that performance in the event that Emms likens to Wimbledon will be a daunting prospect, but the British pair are in the kind of form which makes it a possibility, having won their semi-final in the German Open yesterday, gaining revenge on Jun and Ling with a 15-11 15-12 victory to reach today's final.

    But one thing the British pair were sure of, as they wolfed their lunch in the HQ cafe, was that the Championships would be scrupulously officiated. Regretfully. Badminton, it seems, is a nasty old business on the court. "In England, the officials are very honest," said Robertson, with the trace of a grin. "You always get fair tournaments."

    The inference is clear - we are back to the comments he made in the wake of the Olympic defeat, when he referred to the "needle" that existed between European and Asian players.

    "We play 50 per cent of our tournaments in Asia, and it's much more difficult there," Robertson said, and Emms amplifies his point with the ease you would expect of a sporting couple who spend so much time together.

    "When you play in China, the officials will call everything the Chinese way," Emms said. "And when you protest, you can hear the crowd laughing and shouting at you. We don't do that sort of thing, because we're British!"

    Robertson said: "Our hardest match was probably the final of the Thailand Open in January. The officials were giving us warnings for nothing, and almost disqualified us because they were so desperate for the home pair to win. But we won it anyway."

    Opposition players also exert their presence on each other - some of it physical, some of it mental. In their Olympic final, Jun gave a passable imitation of vintage McEnroe as he vented his frustrations. Robertson said: "You've got to get rid of your nice personality. On court, your opponent is your enemy."

    Emms adds her own perspective: "When you watch some of the smashes the guys do, the whole thing is full of testosterone. It's 'I can hit it harder than you'."

    In Robertson's assessment, he is the more extreme of the two on court, admitting that he throws his racket around and shouts at the officials, but he's not overly physical: "Well, I've never struck an official!"

    Robertson and Emms, respectively 27 and 25, have been a pairing since 2001, having played together in the junior ranks. "It's not a settled life, but it's a great lifestyle," said Robertson, who has a flat in Milton Keynes, where his daughter Neve, who made several TV appearances after the matches in Athens, goes to school. His partner, Ditte, lives in her native Denmark, where Robertson lives the other half of his life as a league player.

    Emms, too, plays in the Danish League - sadly, there is no likelihood of a British version in the near future - and moved last year from her native Bedford to buy a house close to the badminton centre.

    Their Olympic success has altered, rather than transformed, their lives. Both appeared on the BBC Superstars programme, andA Question of Sport, where Emms was accused by her team captain, Matt Dawson, of being "very competitive". Emms said: "I was a bit hyper, but I was on a roll. I got loads of questions right. I get recognised more than I used to. I was called 'badminton queen' the other day - that was good."

    But if the Olympics have enhanced their profile, the memory of their defeat - it took them nine minutes to register a point, at 9-0 down, yet they recovered to get within four points of the gold at 11-8 in the final set - is almost too hard to bear.

    "I still feel gutted about it," Emms said. "When I think about us getting the silver medal it brings a lump to my throat, almost. I can't see myself ever being fully over it."

    Robertson concurs: "In the immediate aftermath there was a sense of massive disappointment. You knew you might never get that chance again. I think about the final every day. But I was still absolutely happy about stepping onto the Olympic podium."

    At the post-match press conference in Athens, Robertson announced defiantly that they were both young enough to come back and win the gold.

    "I said before the last Olympics that my peak was 27," he said, adding, with a wide grin: "Now I'll peak at 31 for the next Games."
     
  2. MarkinJapan

    MarkinJapan Regular Member

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    :rolleyes:

    she must be joking.............
     
  3. Cheung

    Cheung Moderator

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    :confused: Shouldn't it be Gillian Gilks?
     
  4. happy go lucky

    happy go lucky Regular Member

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    yeah right. That reminds of good Tony Blair who is a good leader and a gracious person.
     
  5. Dill

    Dill Regular Member

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    Could be worse, it could have been Nathan who was called "badminton queen" :eek:
     
  6. aiyuuw

    aiyuuw Regular Member

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    okay, now what is this? they dont do that becos theyre british and we do becos we're asians? and why are they called golden couple anyway?
    the truth is 'things' like that happens everywhere
     
  7. jamesd20

    jamesd20 Moderator

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    I am confused about the title, surely it should have read:

    "silver couple seek golden lining"

    :)
     
  8. hcyong

    hcyong Regular Member

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    Well, the fact is, these 'things' do happen most of the time in Asian countries. The umpires and service judges are usually fair because they come from other countries, but the linesmen are another case. In Europe, people tend to be more fair, but that doesn't mean they don't do it. They are just less likely to do it. We are all human and in varying degrees susceptible to emotions and passions. But I dream of the day we do not need the linesmen anymore.

    However, I think the way Emms said it was quite tactless. It makes her out to be a victim of a worldwide conspiracy, like the whole world is out to deny her titles. But the fact is competition is stiff and sometimes they do play like sh*t.
     
  9. Wizbit

    Wizbit Regular Member

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    ..So basically the Asians stick together?...however the Europeans look after eachother too?

    Some Malaysians would like to argue that they were robbed of a gold medal at last years All England event....with intervention from a fellow European umpire? please....:(

    It is still evident that N Robertson and G Emms are very bitter at their loss in Athens, but they have no one to blame apart from themselves. They admit that mental mind games are part of the game, but I think they are to blame for their own fall down as they got a taste of their own medicine and couldn't stomach it aswell as their opponents. I think it has been blown out of proportion...all this competitiveness has brewed a real hatred between some of the players. If this were football, the FA football association would have stepped in by now, and demanded some tea party where all parties involved would shake hands over a cup of tea. ;)

    G Emms says she is gutted for walking away with Silver...I would say she was rather lucky. Had Kim/Ra survived till the end, they could have walked away with nothing.

    I feel for them because there is so much pressure for them to win. Fact is they are not technically as good as the top pairs from Asia. The only matches I have seen where they win these top pairs seems to go down to a psychological scrap, although I have the say the Olympics MXD final was very watchable :D

    If they want to prove they are the best, they should let the results show it. In my opinion Zhang and Gao have just past their peak, although still second to Kim and Ra. New pairs from Indonesia, Korea, China, Denmark and Denmark are breaking through successfully. There is a window of maybe up to 12-18 months for Robertson and Emms to reign at the top. What do you think?
     
  10. madturtle

    madturtle Regular Member

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    You know what? they are simply racist to say this. robertson has a bad temper, so who is he to comment on Asians like that and give such a generalisation? it only goes to show his low level of intellect and prejudice.
     
  11. aiyuuw

    aiyuuw Regular Member

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    well, i dont know if theyre racists or not, but they (particularly robertson) have told this to the media for more than once, i wonder why,,,,:mad:
     
  12. prince_user

    prince_user Regular Member

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    One thing that has to be pointed out is that the Robertson/Emms combination is simply not that good. Witness the German open, from being 14-3 up against Lee/Lee they finally lost 17-14.

    One word comes to mind on this performance: choke. Excusable for a new team ( which incidentally Lee/Lee are ), but simply inexcusable for those with the experience in international tournaments that they have had. What is worse is that they were up against a new pairing. Shouldn't the choking be the other way around?

    At least here they won't have the excuse that it was on Asian ground ( No offence meant to their fans ).
     
  13. Dill

    Dill Regular Member

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    I think Nathan needs to work on mental strength, as long as I have watched the two compete (around 3 years) I have always noticed Nathans moods, he seems dejected and down once things get a bit away from him. Gail on the other hand always appears bubbly and more important she always tries in her body language, Nathan on the other hand looks as if he just gives up.

    When you talk about pressure there is immense pressure lumped onto these two, they are now officialy the best pairing Britain and England has ever had with their results at Athens, but, there have been lots of sniping at them for lack of results and that multiplied after the Olympics where they were doing a lot of promotional work and no training and it echoed in the results for the competitions they played just after Athens, even before Athens they were attacked left right and centre for being non achievers.

    If they have points to make just ignore them and judge them by their performances on court, afterall badminton is a psychological game as well and if the fellow players are in the same veign as the replies we have seen here then Nathan and Gails article has done its job.
     
  14. prince_user

    prince_user Regular Member

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    bad all england draw for them

    Just a note,

    It is hard for me to see Robertson/Emms winning the All-England this year given the draw they are stuck with. They are scheduled to meet Lee/Lee ( the couple that just beat them ) in the second round, Mogensen/Olsen in the quarterfinals and Gao/Huang in the semis. Any of these matches could be finals matches in other tournaments.
     
    #14 prince_user, Mar 6, 2005
    Last edited: Mar 6, 2005
  15. Schneider

    Schneider Regular Member

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    They are not racist to say this, as if they are speaking in Chinese then how are they suppose to understand? And if they are shouting at them they can be very discomforting. Then again I do agree on the issue about Nathan's mental attitude but that's understandable:).
     
  16. jamesd20

    jamesd20 Moderator

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    Can you explain why this is understandable?


    Problem with mental side of things are very difficult to change. I cant think of one player who has reached a high level, but struggles with focus, and has manage to overcome this.

    Simply because you cannpot place the pressure of winning a major final until you are there, and they dont come around that often.
     
  17. jkusmanto

    jkusmanto Regular Member

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    It is very easy to blame somebody if you lost.
    I think Nathan/Gail is just shouting out 'to show' their disappointment. After their lost to Asian pair in their finals.


    By the way Cheung,
    She was Gillian Gilks before married Mr. Gowers.
     
  18. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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    unfortunately i also have the same feeling as jkusmanto. it was a case of sore loser. and frankly, i think a true sportsman/woman should take defeats in a more respectful manner. if those are indeed the true comments from Robertson/Emms, then they have lost my respect for them.
     
  19. Dill

    Dill Regular Member

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    Problem is Kwun it is now customary to blame anything but the person, it gives them hte sense that they are vunerable and can be beat and that is just what they don't need.

    All these comments are psychological gamesmanship, if people believe them then they will think that Nathan and Gail won the silver not lost the gold for a miriad of reasons and they are indeed far better and when they play on home soil they will be unstopable.

    Give it a week and see what happens. Usually they go out in the quarters of the All England.
     
  20. jamesd20

    jamesd20 Moderator

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    Maybe in the UK (and others) But not elsewhere.

    If you dont come to terms with the fact that you lost because you weren't good enough, then you wont improve. Anything else is an excuse.

    Also just because it may be customary, doen't mean we have to respect anyone who blames others!
     

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