Hamilton badminton ace described Thomas Cup snub as “a slap in the face”.

Feb 18 2010 by Andrew McGilvray, Hamilton Advertiser

HAMILTON badminton ace Jamie Neill was stunned when he and partner Keith Turnbull were overlooked for BADMINTONscotland’s Thomas Cup team – despite beating the country’s top doubles pairing.

Neill and Turnbull, from Larkhall, dumped top seeds Watson Briggs and Paul van Rietvelde to take the Scottish National Doubles title on February 7 and expected to be given a chance to represent their country at the Thomas Cup European qualifiers in Warsaw, Poland, this week.

The fact that the self-funded duo were left behind was described by 25-year-old Jamie as a “kick in the teeth,” and he has called for qualification criteria either to be clarified or changed.

He told the Advertiser: “It was a real shock to be told we weren’t going because we felt that we had done enough.

“BADMINTONscotland have made decisions in the past that we’ve thought were unfair but that was the worst for a while.

“It’s a real kick in the teeth because we did everything we could.”

Jamie, a badminton coach at Esporta Hamilton, added: “We got an email in December to say that to be considered for the Thomas Cup qualifier we had to do well at the Dunfermline Open and the Scottish Nationals – we can’t do much more than beat the top seeds.

“The official reason that we didn’t get selected is that there are three criterion levels and, basically, they didn’t think we were good enough.

“That is flawed and can be open to their opinion, rather than facts, and if rankings don’t really matter in Scotland, then what’s the point in having them?

“I think the fact that we’re self-funded has gone against us and they maybe don’t think we take it seriously enough.

“We couldn’t just turn up and beat guys like Watson Briggs and Paul van Rietvelde if we’re just mucking about.”

Anne Smillie, BADMINTONscotland chief executive, said: “There is a published set of criteria and the kind of evidence selectors are looking for is wins over players or pairs that are ranked inside the top 50 of the Badminton World Federation World Ranking List, which is updated regularly.

“A player or pair that has achieved this level of success on more than one occasion over the preceding 12 months would be regarded as having demonstrated that they have the potential to win medals or matches at the relevant event.

“There are a couple of opportunities to do this in events within the British Isles and many more in European competitions.

“The players in question could not qualify under the criteria.”

Jamie admitted that the decision has left him dismayed: “I feel let down,” he said. “I’ve been pretty hurt by this whole thing because I’ve been talking to people I’ve known for about 10 years, asking questions, and not really getting any answers.

“I feel like we’re being swept under the carpet and dismissed.”

Jamie, was, however, pleased to see that Lanarkshire players Andrew Bowman and Kirsty Gilmour had been selected for the Thomas Cup and Uber cup qualifying squads.