Heather Ward

Last updated

Heather Ward
(married name Heather Nielsen)
Personal information
CountryEngland
BornOctober 1938 (age 86) [1]
Surrey
Medal record
Representing Flag of England.svg  ENG
All England Open Badminton Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1958 London doubles
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1959 London singles

Heather Maureen Ward (later Heather Nielsen; born October 1938) is a former English badminton player who won international championships and competed at an elite level during a two decade span from the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s.

Contents

Biography

Noted for her grace and athleticism, she won women's doubles with American Margaret Varner at the 1958 All England Badminton Championships (then the world's most prestigious tournament for individual competitors). [2] The following year Ward interrupted the reign of the great Judy Devlin (Hashman) by defeating her in the 1959 All England Badminton Championships women's singles final. [3] During the 1960s her badminton career was hampered by a variety of factors including athletic injury, marriage and motherhood, and residence in South Africa. In 1970, however, she returned to the 1970 All England Badminton Championships to reach the final of women's singles before bowing to Japan's Etsuko Takenaka. [4] Continuing to compete, she was an All-England singles quarter-finalist as late as 1975. [5]

She married Egon Nielsen and they had four children Bjorn, Gorm, Belinda and Anders Nielsen. [6]

Achievements

International tournaments (11 titles, 10 runners-up)

Women's singles

YearTournamentOpponentScoreResult
1956 Scottish Open Flag of England.svg Iris Rogers 11–6, 4–11, 5–11Silver medal icon.svgRunner-up
1957 Irish Open Flag of England.svg Iris Rogers9–12, 12–11, 1–11Silver medal icon.svgRunner-up
1958Scottish Open Flag of England.svg Iris Rogers6–11, 11–3, 11–4Gold medal icon.svgWinner
1958 Welsh International Flag of England.svg P. E. Broad 11–1, 11–4Gold medal icon.svgWinner
1959Irish Open Flag of England.svg Iris Rogers11–4, 11–8Gold medal icon.svgWinner
1959 All England Open Flag of the United States.svg Judy Devlin 11–7, 3–11, 11–4Gold medal icon.svgWinner
1966 Dutch Open Flag of England.svg Angela Bairstow 7–11, 11–8, 5–11Silver medal icon.svgRunner-up
1970 All England Open Flag of Japan.svg Etsuko Takenaka 3–11, 4–11Silver medal icon.svgRunner-up

Women's doubles

YearTournamentPartnerOpponentScoreResult
1956 Scottish Open Flag of England.svg M. Crockett Flag of England.svg Iris Rogers
Flag of England.svg June Timperley
7–15, 3–15Silver medal icon.svgRunner-up
1957 Irish Open Flag of England.svg Barbara Carpenter Flag of England.svg Iris Rogers
Flag of England.svg June Timperley
13–18, 15–11, 2–15Silver medal icon.svgRunner-up
1957 Swedish Open Flag of Denmark.svg Hanne Roest Flag of England.svg Iris Rogers
Flag of England.svg June Timperley
2–15, 7–15Silver medal icon.svgRunner-up
1958Scottish Open Flag of England.svg Barbara Carpenter Flag of England.svg Iris Rogers
Flag of England.svg June Timperley
13–15, 7–15Silver medal icon.svgRunner-up
1958 All England Open Flag of the United States.svg Margaret Varner Bloss Flag of England.svg Iris Rogers
Flag of England.svg June Timperley
15–12, 15–2Gold medal icon.svgWinner
1958 Welsh International Flag of England.svg P. E. Broad Flag of England.svg B. Maxwell
Flag of England.svg J. Davidson
15–5, 15–6Gold medal icon.svgWinner
1959Irish Open Flag of England.svg Barbara Carpenter Flag of England.svg Iris Rogers
Flag of England.svg June Timperley
6–15, 5–15Silver medal icon.svgRunner-up
1959 Belgian International Flag of England.svg Barbara Carpenter Flag of Denmark.svg Tonny Holst-Christensen
Flag of Denmark.svg Inger Kjærgaard
15–8, 15–9Gold medal icon.svgWinner
1966 Denmark Open Flag of the Netherlands.svg Imre Rietveld Flag of Denmark.svg Karin Jørgensen
Flag of Denmark.svg Ulla Strand
4–15, 12–15Silver medal icon.svgRunner-up
1966 Dutch Open Flag of England.svg Jenny Horton Flag of the Netherlands.svg Agnes Geene
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Imre Rietveld
17–14, 15–3Gold medal icon.svgWinner
1974Swedish Open Flag of England.svg Barbara Giles Flag of Germany.svg Brigitte Steden
Flag of Germany.svg Marieluise Wackerow
6–15, 15–13, 15–10Gold medal icon.svgWinner

Mixed doubles

YearTournamentPartnerOpponentScoreResult
1958 Welsh International Flag of England.svg Hugh Findlay Flag of England.svg Tony Jordan
Flag of England.svg P. E. Broad
15–11, 15–7Gold medal icon.svgWinner
1959 Belgian International Flag of England.svg Hugh Findlay Flag of England.svg Ronald Lockwood
Flag of England.svg Barbara Carpenter
15–11, 15–11Gold medal icon.svgWinner

References

  1. "1938 births". Free BMD.
  2. Herbert Scheele ed., The International Badminton Federation Handbook for 1971 (Canterbury, Kent, England: J. A. Jennings Ltd., 1971) 166.
  3. Scheele, 163.
  4. Scheele, 164.
  5. Pat Davis, The Guinness Book of Badminton (Enfield, Middlesex, England: Guinness Superlatives Ltd., 1983) 162.
  6. "Badminton mourns Anders Nielsen". Badminton England.