THE Isle of Man Badminton team has lost its first match at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi - against world champions Malaysia - 5-0.
However the Manx team, who will be playing Nigeria this afternoon, said it was a solid performance and team members are upbeat.
Playing the world champions has been described as "a real bit of history for the Isle of Man".
See the bottom of the story for a reaction from the team members.
RESULTS:
MIXED DOUBLES
Matt Wilkinson and Kim Clague lost 2-0 to Kien Keat Koo and Ee Hui Chin: 21 – 5, 21 – 7
MEN'S SINGLES
Josh Green lost 2-0 to Lee Chong Wei (No.1 seed) 21 – 16, 21 – 6
LADIES' SINGLES
Cristen Callow lost 2-0 to Mew Choo Wong: 21 – 6, 21 – 6
MEN’S DOUBLES
Matt Wilkinson and Josh Green lost 2-0 to Peng Soon Chan and M.Hafiz Hashim: 21 – 10, 21 – 5
LADIES' DOUBLES
Cristen Callow and Kim Clague lost 2-0 to Liu YingGoh and Khe Wei Woon: 21 – 7, 21 – 12
Matt Wilkinson said: "It was a solid performance from all the team. That match has settled us into the competition, which is exactly what we wanted.
"We know that they have a few extra gears that they maybe didn't need, but in all our matches there were lots of rallies and we took points off the world champions.
"Badminton in Malaysia is like football is in the UK – it’s their number one sport."
Josh Green said: "That was fantastic! That's the first time I've played a player in the World top 10 and I really enjoyed it.
"The shuttles are running really fast – but you have to expect that at top tournaments. The team is really upbeat now for this afternoon's match against Nigeria."
Cristen Callow said: "It's so good to get the competition underway. I really enjoyed it. She's the best player I've ever played and there were some really good rallies."
Kim Clague added: "The last game in the ladies doubles was amazing. We really got going and to get 12 points off them is great. I'm really looking forward to the rest of the matches."
Team manager Geoff Clague said: "That's a real bit of history for the Isle of Man – playing the world's top team.
"All their players are among the very best. The whole team played well – and Josh played exceptionally. If we had to play the best team in the tournament, then it's best to get them out of the way first.
"It's an ideal warm-up for the match against Nigeria this afternoon."
