SAM Parsons insisted he had no one to blame but himself after failing to fire on the opening night of this season’s National Badminton League (NBL).
The new season got underway on Monday night with two fixtures taking place in Loughborough and Surrey.
Parsons was in action at the latter, as his Milton Keynes-based MK Badminton side travelled to Surrey Sports Park to take on the Surrey Smashers in front of the Sky Sports cameras.
The 20-year-old took the court knowing that he had to win his men’s singles match against Carl Baxter to keep his side’s hopes alive, with MK Badminton trailing 2-0 after the mixed doubles and women’s singles events.
But while racing into a 6-2 lead in the first game, he was unable to maintain his momentum and eventually lost out 9-8, 9-3, 9-7.
It meant defeat for not only him, but also his side – who eventually lost out 4-1 with success in the mixed doubles the only highlight – and Parsons was struggling to find any positives.
“I had a good start but I made too many errors,” he said. “I slowed my pace down a bit too much and Carl had the momentum and I couldn’t manage to switch on and he took the first set and that’s what made the difference in the end.
“I tried to focus on myself but when you’re 2-0 down it’s hard to go onto the court and pull it out of the bag.
“But it was not fault of the team in going 2-0 down, it was my own fault. I wasn’t good enough on the day.
“I had a good start but that’s probably the only positive really.
“I’ve got training now, and then a couple of tournaments, maybe three, and then back for the NBL. I just need to work on the fast a start as that is where I was struggling.”
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