Aucklander Warren Johns only made it to one Commonwealth Games – in Christchurch in 1974 – but he was a significant player on the New Zealand badminton scene throughout the 1970s.
He represented New Zealand at Whyte Trophy and Thomas Cup level.
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Aucklander Warren Johns only made it to one Commonwealth Games – in Christchurch in 1974 – but he was a significant player on the New Zealand badminton scene throughout the 1970s.
He represented New Zealand at Whyte Trophy and Thomas Cup level.
Johns, born in 1949, won two New Zealand doubles titles – in 1971 with Mike Stossell and in 1977 with Ross Livingston.
At the Commonwealth Games, he fought hard to win his first singles match, against Australian Peter Cooper 5-15, 15-7, 15-7, then went down to the top-seeded Englishman Derek Talbot 15-1, 15-12.
He and Livingston made a good run in the doubles. They beat Australians Paul Tyrrell and John Clancy 17-14, 14-11, and then turned in an excellent performance to beat Canadians Wayne Macdonnell and Jamie McKee 15-8, 15-5. Into the quarter-finals, they lost to another English pairing, Ray Stevens and Michael Tredgett 15-3, 15-9.
Johns worked as a Customs agent. He lived on the North Shore, though he represented Auckland.
