Bronze beckons after quarrel
Ashley Brehaut and Travis Denney, controversial winners yesterday.
Photo: Louie Douvis
Australia's Travis Denney and Ashley Brehaut will play for a bronze medal in the men's doubles badminton today after losing their semi-final last night.
The Australian pair lost to the top-seeded Malaysian duo of Chong Ming Chan and Kien Keat Koo 21-11, 21-8.
Denney and Brehaut's opponents in the bronze medal match were to be decided late last night. Australia last won a Commonwealth Games badminton medal in 1998.
Earlier, Denney and Brehaut won their quarter-final in controversial circumstances, with their New Zealand opponents being given a red card for swearing, surrendering match point to the Australians.
Bellingham's red card came after he accused Brehaut of cheating. At 19-19 in the third and deciding game, Bellingham yelled: "You're a f---ing cheat, Brehaut" and the umpire awarded Australia a point.
Bellingham later said he believed Brehaut's "drive" serve was illegal because he was lifting his racquet too high.
The Australians went on to win the next point to secure their place in the semi-final.
The match had been disrupted earlier when a technical glitch caused the lighting to pulsate. Play on all three courts was delayed for 10 minutes.
The Kiwis won the first game 22-20 before the Australians took the second 21-16.
Brehaut said he learnt to do a "drive" serve while training in Malaysia and there was nothing illegal about it.
He said he knew Bellingham found it difficult to return and it was stupid for him to react in that way.
"If I'm cheating, well then, the umpire will call it, so as far as I'm concerned, it's in the laws," he said. "We just try to push those boundaries.
"You're in the Commonwealth Games, you've got everyone here, a lot of families, and he comes up and says I believe the words were: 'You're a f---ing cheat, Brehaut'.
"But if he wants to do that, that's up to him. I'm not going to go down to his level. I'm not going to start anything like that. It's just a joke. It was a stupid thing by him."
Bellingham said he regretted making the comments but stuck by his cheating allegation. "In badminton, you have got to keep the racquet below the waist," he said. "He won five points in a row and that's just cheating.
"Unfortunately, you are not allowed to call him a cheat, which is what I didn't realise."
Australian coach Claus Poulsen said the Kiwis had struggled with Brehaut's serve in the past. "We talked about (it and decided) just use the serve because as long as they don't call it a fault, it's a fantastic serve, the drive serve," he said.