Defeating the Cercle Sportif Francais again in the second round of the Shanghai Ladies Doubigg Badminton League yesterday evening on their home courts by seven gemes two, the first-string players of the Country Club definitely established a safe lead in the parade to this year's championship.
The margin of 7-2 was identical to that which stood between the two leading title-contenders in their first-round contest last Monday.
Yesterday's result gave the Country Club a favourable advantage of exactly ten points over the French exponents who have won 19 games and lost 17 whereas the former succeeded in chalking up a total of 29-7.
Although having little trouble in the second and third doubles, which ended with the homesters winning by straight scores, the Club again met a superior side in the first couple when Mrs. Maitland and Mrs. Burton had to be content with defeat against Miss Eardley and Mrs. Stokes who, Stter dropping the first game to start with, went berserk to reel off the wining two frames and redeem the French team considerably.
The partnership of Mrs. Maitland and Mrs. Burton got to work right irom the opening play as they started out promisingly. The former did not hesitate to take the aggressive and started hitting on her own account while the latter helped her teammate with a steadfastness which commanded admiration. Their op-Ponents were under pressure all the time. Except for occasional bursts, the trailers had hardly any opportunity of reducing the arrears. The carly settlers, on the other hand, had tuned up their game so well that the two literally stowed away and never seemed in the slightest danger of losing the initial game which even tually finished with a comfortable margin of 15-8.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.