ELENA JOHNSON has beaten arguably the biggest name in British badminton - twice. Gail Emms, one half of the world and mixed doubles Commonwealth Games champions, went down in straight sets to the Guernsey star 21-11, 21-14 when the Sarnian played at number one for Worcestershire against Hertfordshire in the Victor Inter-Counties Premier A.
Johnson then joined forces with another Olympic medallist to secure her second victory over her.
It was the icing on the cake of what has been, in Johnson’s words, ‘a fantastic first half of the season’.
‘The [singles] defeat set the team up for a 7-3 victory over Hertfordshire,’ said the Sarnian.
‘I went on to partner Simon Archer, Olympic bronze medallist from Athens, in a straight-sets win against Emms and her partner.’
Johnson finished a weekend of top-class badminton undefeated on the singles court with another notable victory coming against Gabriella White of Yorkshire, who will soon be leaving for Australia to represent Great Britain in the Youth Olympics.
‘After dropping the first game 23-21, I felt strong and could see that my opponent had tired far more than I had. I went on to take the following two sets 21-13, 21-13. It was an important rubber against the top team in the premier league for several years,’ she said.
‘I had a comfortable win over Catherine Grant of Warwickshire who was playing number one in the absence of their top two women, internationals Julia Mann and Jill Pittard.’
Earlier in the season, the first of the series of three premier weekends was equally successful for the Guernsey girl.
‘In our first match over Glasgow and North Strathclyde I had a good singles win over their top player, Jaclyn Gilliland, as well as a win in the doubles with partner Tracy Baker and in the mixed with Simon.
‘We went on to play Hampshire where I had an excellent straight-set victory over the current England number six, Jo Dix.
‘Although a loss, my best result of the weekend may have been against professional Eleanor Cox. I lost 21-17, 21-19 but such a close result against one of the country’s greatest prosp-ects was an indicator of how much I have come on this season.’
Johnson also enjoyed another successful campaign in the British University Championships, picking up a silver in the singles and a mixed doubles bronze.
The Birmingham Univer-sity student was disappointed, though, not to go one better individually having gone in seeded two.
‘As favourite to win the title after the top seed pulled out I had a disappointing final,’ Johnson said.
‘Playing junior international Francesca Edelman, I had little left in the tank after a morning when inclusion in the final stage of three events meant 15min. rest between matches.
‘I was utterly disappointed not to have walked away with the title.’
With her mixed partner Ivor Griffiths, the reached the semi-finals comfortably before losing a tight game to the top seeds.
Johnson also competed at the Welsh International tournament and was drawn against number six seed Tania Luiz, an Australian international and world number 59, in the first round.
Johnson fought back well after losing the first set to level things at 1-1 but eventually went down 21-12 in the decider.
‘Having seen Luiz in the Commonwealth Games I did not go into the game with particularly high expectations, which may have been my downfall,’ she said.
However, the signs for the future of the island’s own Commonwealth Games star are encouraging.
‘This has been one of my most successful seasons so far,’ said Johnson, who has been aided by an equipment sponsorship deal with Ashaway.
‘The results that I have had this season have given me confidence in my own ability to compete at top senior level.
‘With my degree course coming to an end, I hope to be able to dedicate even more time to pursuing my badminton career.’
Article posted on 30th December, 2006 - 12.00am
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