Judy Devlin Hashman, who won the All England badminton singles title 10 times, more than any other player, male or female, died on Monday. She is 88 years old.
She died at a cancer hospice in Oxford, England, her son Jeff said.
Before badminton established a world championship or joined the Olympics, the All England Badminton Open was the pinnacle of the sport. In 1954, Harshman won the women’s singles title for the first time at the age of 18. She went on to win nine more titles, the last in 1967.
Her 10 singles titles are That’s the most for any player. She also won seven women’s tag team titles, six of them with her sister Susan Devlin (later known as Susan Peard).
Judy Devlin was born in Winnipeg, Canada on October 22, 1935. Her father, J. Frank Devlin, was a badminton coach who was good at many sports, and her mother, J. Grace (Steed) Devlin was a scientist and an accomplished tennis player. Playing doubles at Wimbledon.The family moved to Maryland when she was a child.
She won a total of 17 titles at the All England Championships, ranking third behind Sir George Thomas and her father, who both competed in the 1920s.
She also plays field hockey, lacrosse and tennis, but puts badminton first. “I started playing badminton when I was 7 years old. It was my own choice,” she tell the world badminton federation 2020. Her father suggested she play tennis, but she “didn’t want that.”
“One of the neighbors was playing badminton in the backyard,” she said. “I remember it very clearly. I pointed across the way and said, ‘This is the game I want to play. The one with the long name. But I don’t remember the name.’
She recounted how her father stood at the bottom of a hill and “I had to throw a ball into his hand without him having to move his arm.”
“It’s all guided by follow-up,” she said. “That’s basically the reason for my accuracy in badminton.”
She began going by the name Judy Hashman in 1960 after her marriage to George Cecil Kenneth Hashman, an Englishman who worked for the United Kingdom’s Atomic Energy Authority. Participate in the competition.
She reached all England finals between 1954 and 1967 – except 1965, when she had given birth to Jeff two months earlier (she still reached the fourth round).
She was preceded in death by a sister, Mrs. Peard. two sons, Jeff and Joe, and one grandson.
She won her last All-England title in 1967She faces a huge challenge from Japan’s Noriko Takagi, who defeated her in the Uber Cup team event earlier this year. In the deciding set, Harshman fought back from 1-5 down and won 12-10, winning his 10th championship.
Harshman also won 12 U.S. singles titles, the last in 1967, before she retired. “I accomplished the goals I set” she told Sports Illustrated then. “This game takes a lot out of you physically and mentally. I couldn’t get anything more out of it. Besides, if you’re good at a sport, you don’t like to give your best, and I didn’t Not willing to take the time to do it.”
Her achievements earned her a place in the Badminton Hall of Fame.
Her games are known for their simplicity. “Dad always believed that the simplest shots of anything were the least tiring,” she told Sports Illustrated. “There’s no point in having fancy finishes.”
Because badminton is an amateur sport and there is no way to make a living, she Teach English and Geography Joska Preparatory School (now Abingdon Prep), Abingdon, England.
“You don’t compete for the money,” she said of the All England Championships in an interview. Video interview posted online. “If you play badminton, that’s the one thing you want to do most. That’s enough.”
Add in expenses, and the sport’s financial position is net negative. “It’s a hobby,” she said. “You spend money on your hobbies – everyone does that.”
She said in a statement that after her retirement she rarely watched modern games. 2020 video Published by All England Championships. “It’s all fitness; none of us are that fit,” she said, because the sport has always been amateurish. “My fitness plan is 10 minutes a day.”
“This idea,” she said, “‘Oh, you have to practice this until you throw up,’ I’ve heard some coaches say that. What nonsense is that. No one should throw up.”
In 1970, Harshman appeared on the BBC’s major radio program Desert Island Discs and selected songs by Mitch Miller, Perry Como and Mario Lanza, including Richard Burgh Dayton’s “Camelot” was her first choice. Her luxury item of choice is a stamp album.
Although tennis champions have always received more attention, Harshman said she has no regrets about her choice.
“Tennis is very slow; you have a lot of time to worry about,” she told the World Badminton Federation. “Badminton is faster and the brain has to work all the time without rest.”
“Once the rally is over, you have to focus immediately on the next rally,” she added. “You don’t have time to hang out on the court and bounce the ball God knows how many times before you serve. You just have to get on with it.”
“Badminton suits me temperamentally,” she said. “I don’t think it’s beating around the bush because I have a lot of time to do stuff. Just keep doing it.”
Derrick Taylor contributed reporting from London.
