WORLD SENIORS - Hunt: "It's given me a second wind"

The World Senior Championships were held in Spain, last week. On top of a great turnout - more than 708 players from over 34 countries - it has given some former stars the desire to play again. Chris Hunt, a former Commonwealth Games gold medallist, scooped two titles... and found himself willing to compete again.

By Raphaël Sachetat. Photos: Chris Hunt and Badminton Spain (live)

It was a great competition, no questions asked. A lot of photos posted on Facebook accounts, a lot of excitement, it all showed that the World Senior Championships was a success. But this edition seems to have gone beyond the original target and given old stars a great way to enjoy themselves on court.

Some former greats made the trip to this biannual competition in the south of Spain, such as Dan Travers - now head coach of Scotland's national team, Helene Kirkegaard, Lone Knudsen, Steen Fladberg, Sue Crompton and former top player from England Chris Hunt.

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For Hunt, this was the occasion to shine on court in a competition which is quite different from what he used to play in, when still a youngster:

"I don't think I have played an event with so many matches to play, but to play again and compete was fabulous and it has given me a second wind in playing badminton. I think this competition is a must for all ex-players. Mainly because after retirement, you lose that personal goal."

The former gold medallist in the Commonwealth Games with Gillian Clark in 1994 and twice European Champion with Simon Archer (1994 and 1998) succeeded as a retired veteran in an event which had never been a lucky one before - the world championships.

"I have played many in my career, and all my bad results seemed to come during the World Champs for some reason. I think I used to overtrain in the old days, and end up playing with injuries or recovering from injuries!" Hunt explained.

There were no injuries this time even though he felt the weight of years, as he scooped two titles, in the over-40 men's doubles event with partner Nick Ponting, and in the over-35 mixed with Denmark's Helle Andresen (pictured top).

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"I am very happy to win both events, but then I had very good partners. My performance was good, but my body struggled to cope with the demands of the game."

Some old stars managed to keep their status of favourites during the tournament. Dan Travers (photo) was crowned as over-50 men's singles champion, Helene Kirkegaard and Ann Nielsen won the over-35 women's doubles, while Harry Shadwick (photo) was the big winner of the event with three gold medals in the over-65 category.

As for the organisation, it was all thumbs up for the Spanish organisers: "It was very well organised by the Spanish, great fun yet very competitive. Many matches to play, and yet the timings for the event were so accurate and on time. The facilities and accomodation were excellent," added Hunt.

The next edition of the World Senior Championships will be held in Richmond BC, Canada in 2011 - Badzine will send a team to report AND participate! The European Senior Championships will be held next year with the host nation yet to be confirmed.

All RESULTS HERE

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