Susan Whetnall on arvau

Wikipedia / Susan Whetnall

Susan D. Whetnall (born 11 December 1942, née Susan Pound) is a former English badminton player, noted for her anticipation and shot-making ability, who won numerous international titles in doubles and mixed doubles from the mid-1960s through the mid-1970s. She was married to another English former international player, Paul Whetnall, from 1968 until his death in May 2014.

Badminton career

Born, Susan Pound, she married fellow international player Paul Whetnall in 1968, and competed in her married name thereafter.

Whetnall shared three women's doubles titles (1969, 1970, 1976) and two mixed doubles titles (1968, 1974) at the All-England Championships which was then considered the world's most prestigious tournament for individual players. She represented the England team at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, Scotland, where she competed in the badminton events, winning a gold medal in the women's doubles.

Four years later she won two more medals at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Whetnall also won five gold medals, two silver medals and a bronze medal in the European Badminton Championships between 1968 and 1976, making her one of the most successful players ever in this biennial tournament.

She was elected to the Badminton Hall of Fame in 2009.

Major achievements

Commonwealth Games

Women's doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1970	Meadowbank Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland	Margaret Boxall	Julie Rickard Gillian Perrin	15–9, 15–2	Gold
1974	Cowles Stadium, Christchurch, New Zealand	Margaret Boxall	Margaret Beck Gillian Perrin	7–15, 5–15	Silver

Mixed doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1970	Meadowbank Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland	David Eddy	Paul Whetnall Julie Rickard	15–8, 12–15, 15–12	Bronze
1974	Cowles Stadium, Christchurch, New Zealand	Elliot Stuart	Richard Purser Alison Branfield	15–10, 15–4	Bronze

European Championships

Women's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
1976	Fitzwilliam Club, Dublin, Ireland	Gillian Gilks	5–11, 2–11	Bronze

Women's doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1968	Ruhrlandhalle, Bochum, West Germany	Margaret Boxall	Angela Bairstow Gillian Perrin	15–7, 18–13	Gold
1970	Afan Lido, Port Talbot, Wales	Margaret Boxall	Irmgard Latz Marieluise Wackerow	2–3 retired	Gold
1974	Stadthalle, Vienna, Austria	Nora Gardner	Margaret Beck Gillian Gilks	10–15, 13–15	Silver
1976	Fitzwilliam Club, Dublin, Ireland	Gillian Gilks	Margaret Beck Nora Gardner	15–4, 15–8	Gold

Mixed doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1968	Ruhrlandhalle, Bochum, West Germany	Tony Jordan	Roger Mills Gillian Perrin	15–13, 15–9	Gold
1970	Afan Lido, Port Talbot, Wales	David Eddy	Derek Talbot Gillian Perrin	17–16, 17–16	Gold
1974	Stadthalle, Vienna, Austria	Elliot Stuart	Derek Talbot Gillian Gilks	15–5, 3–15, 3–15	Silver

International tournaments (34 titles, 9 runners-up)

Women's singles

Year	Tournament	Opponent	Score	Result
1969	Scottish Open	Margaret Boxall	11–8, 4–11, 10–12	Runner-up
1970	Dutch Open	Lonny Bostofte	11–6, 6–11, 11–6	Winner
1975	South African Championships	Deirdre Tyghe	7–11, 11–2, 8–11	Runner-up

Women's doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1965	German Open	Veronica Brock	Brenda Parr Ursula Smith	5–15, 16–17	Runner-up
1967	Irish Open	Margaret Boxall	Gillian Perrin Iris Rogers	15–8, 15–7	Winner
1968	Scottish Open	Margaret Boxall	Jenny Horton Ursula Smith	9–15, 9–15	Runner-up
1968	Dutch Open	Margaret Boxall	Angela Bairstow Alison Glenie	5–15, 15–0, 15–9	Winner
1968	German Open	Margaret Boxall	Irmgard Latz Marieluise Wackerow	15–6, 15–7	Winner
1969	All England Open	Margaret Boxall	Hiroe Amano Tomoko Takahashi	15–11, 15–11	Winner
1969	Irish Open	Margaret Boxall	Mary Bryan Yvonne Kelly	15–3, 15–10	Winner
1969	South African Championships	Margaret Boxall	Wilma Prade Ann Smith	15–6, 15–4	Winner
1969	Swedish Open	Margaret Boxall	Anne Flindt Pernille Mølgaard Hansen	4–15, 15–5, 15–10	Winner
1969	Scottish Open	Margaret Boxall	Mary Bryan Yvonne Kelly	15–4, 15–6	Winner
1970	Belgian International	Margaret Boxall	Imre Rietveld Nielsen Anne Berglund	15–4, 15–6	Winner
1970	All England Open	Margaret Boxall	Gillian Perrin Julie Rickard	15–6, 8–15, 15–9	Winner
1970	Canadian Open	Margaret Boxall	Tyna Barinaga Caroline Hein	15–5, 5–15, 15–13	Winner
1970	U.S. Open	Margaret Boxall	Machiko Aizawa Etsuko Takenaka	10–15, 11–15	Runner-up
1970	Dutch Open	Margaret Boxall	Irmgard Latz Marieluise Wackerow	18–15, 12–15, 15–1	Winner
1970	Scottish Open	Margaret Boxall	Margaret Beck Gillian Perrin	15–2, 15–18, 15–5	Winner
1974	All England Open	Margaret Boxall	Margaret Beck Gillian Gilks	5–15, 14–18	Runner-up
1974	Scottish Open	Margaret Boxall	Margaret Beck Gillian Gilks	15–9, 10–15, 15–10	Winner
1975	Dutch Open	Nora Gardner	Marjan Luesken Joke van Beusekom	15–3, 15–5	Winner
1975	South African Championships	Barbara Giles	Deirdre Tyghe Barbara Lord	12–15, 15–7, 18–17	Winner
1975	Swedish Open	Barbara Giles	Nora Gardner Gillian Gilks	15–9, 4–15, 15–11	Winner
1976	U.S. Open	Gillian Gilks	Pam Bristol Brady Rosine Jones	15–4, 15–10	Winner
1976	Scottish Open	Gillian Gilks	Margaret Lockwood Nora Gardner	15–5, 15–2	Winner
1976	German Open	Gillian Gilks	Margaret Lockwood Jane Webster	15–11, 15–9	Winner
1976	All England Open	Gillian Gilks	Margaret Lockwood Nora Gardner	15–10, 15–10	Winner
1976	Dutch Open	Gillian Gilks	Marjan Luesken Joke van Beusekom	15–4, 15–5	Winner

Mixed doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1968	Scottish Open	Tony Jordan	Robert McCoig Muriel Ferguson	15–8, 17–15	Winner
1968	German Open	Tony Jordan	Per Walsøe Pernille Mølgaard Hansen	15–10, 18–17	Winner
1968	All England Open	Tony Jordan	Robert McCoig Muriel Ferguson	15–6, 15–6	Winner
1969	German Open	Tony Jordan	Per Walsøe Pernille Mølgaard Hansen	15–11, 13–15, 15–10	Winner
1969	All England Open	Tony Jordan	Roger Mills Gillian Perrin	15–9, 5–15, 12–15	Runner-up
1969	South African Championships	Tony Jordan	Derek Talbot Gillian Perrin	10–15, 13–15	Runner-up
1969	Scottish Open	Roger Mills	Robert McCoig Muriel Ferguson	15–4, 15–7	Winner
1969	Irish Open	Tony Jordan	Roger Mills Gillian Perrin	15–14, 15–13	Winner
1970	Canadian Open	Ippei Kojima	Paul Whetnall Margaret Boxall	12–15, 15–5, 15–13	Winner
1974	All England Open	David Eddy	Derek Talbot Gillian Gilks	15–6, 15–6	Winner
1975	Dutch Open	David Eddy	Wolfgang Bochow Marieluise Zizmann	15–8, 15–3	Winner
1975	South African Championships	Paul Whetnall	Ray Stevens Barbara Giles	6–15, 15–10, 15–3	Winner
1975	Swedish Open	Elliot Stuart	Mike Tredgett Nora Gardner	12–15, 6–15	Runner-up
1976	U.S. Open	David Eddy	Thomas Kihlström Pam Brady	15–6, 10–15, 15–12	Winner

References

All England champions 1899-2007
Statistics at badmintonengland.co.uk
European results
Pat Davis: The Encyclopaedia of Badminton. Robert Hale, London, 1987, p.180,