3 New Zealand badminton players confirmed for Beijing

WELLINGTON, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Three New Zealand badminton players were confirmed for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games after a big effort against some of the world's best to meet the qualifying criteria, New Zealand media reported on Friday.

New Zealand's Olympic Committee announced on Thursday that New Zealand men's singles player John Moody from North Harbour and the mixed double of Craig Cooper (from Waikato) and Renee Flavell (from Auckland) have met the qualification and will compete in their first Olympic Games.

Moody, 25, was regarded as an attacking player with plenty of speed going forward on the court.

Cooper and Flavell are regarded as an at 15 on the BWF Olympic Ranking in the world and combine the tall left-handed attacking play of Cooper with the fast agility of Renee Flavell.

"The badminton players named today have met the New Zealand Olympic Committee's tough selection criteria," said Barry Maister, Olympic selector and secretary general of the NZOC, adding "players must demonstrate they are able to finish in the Top 16 at Beijing and we are satisfied that John, Craig and Renee are capable of this."

Significant results for Moody in past year include making the last-16 at the highly-regarded Indonesian Super Series tournament and winning the Oceania Championship singles title.

As a team, Cooper and Flavell reached the last 16 at the Hong Kong Super Series tournament and the quarterfinals of the 50,000 U.S. dollars KLRC tournament in Auckland along with a number of other steady results.

The three follow in the footsteps of other New Zealand badminton players to compete at the Olympics - Dean Galt, Kerrin Harrison and Rhona Robertson (1992), Robertson, Tammy Jenkins (1996) and Dan Shirley, Sara Runesten Petersen (2004).