Richard Howard Purser (born 28 February 1942) is a New Zealand

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players pe ...

player who has won 33 New Zealand national badminton titles, including the men's singles on nine occasions. He competed at four consecutive Commonwealth Games, from 1966 to 1978, and won the bronze medal in the men's doubles with his brother, Bryan Purser, at the

1978 Commonwealth Games The 1978 Commonwealth Games were held in Edmonton, Alberta from 3 to 12 August 1978, two years after the 1976 Summer Olympics were held in Montreal, Quebec. They were boycotted by Nigeria, in protest at New Zealand's sporting contacts with apar ...

Early life and family

Purser was born in

New Plymouth New Plymouth ( mi, Ngāmotu) is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, Devon from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. ...

on 28 February 1942, the son of Betty Purser (née Cochran) and Howard Musgrave Purser. He was educated at

New Plymouth Boys' High School New Plymouth Boys' High School is a single-sex boys' state secondary school in New Plymouth, Taranaki, New Zealand. The school currently caters for approximately 1300 students, including 210 boarders, on its site. The school often collaborate ...

, where he excelled at tennis and badminton. Purser's brother, Bryan, and nephew, Craig Cooper, have also represented New Zealand in badminton. His nephew,

Mark Purser Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Fi ...

, is a golfer who represented New Zealand in the

Eisenhower Trophy The Eisenhower Trophy (World Men's Amateur Team Championships) is the biennial World Amateur Team Championship for men organized by the International Golf Federation. Since the tournament was first played in 1958, it is named after Dwight D. Eisen ...

before turning professional.

Badminton

Purser won national junior badminton titles in 1958 and 1959. He won the first of his 33 senior New Zealand national badminton championship titles in 1962, that year winning the men's singles and mixed doubles, with Margaret Moorhead. Purser went on to win the New Zealand men's singles title nine times. In February 1970, Purser was named the Taranaki sportsman of the year. Purser represented New Zealand at four Commonwealth Games between 1966 and 1978. At the

1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games The 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Kingston, Jamaica, from 4 to 13 August 1966. This was the first time that the Games had been held outside the so-called White Dominions. They were followed by the 1966 Commonwealth P ...

in Kingston, he lost his opening matches in the men's singles, men's doubles and mixed doubles. Four years later, at the

1970 British Commonwealth Games The 1970 British Commonwealth Games (Scottish Gaelic: Geamannan a 'Cho-fhlaitheis Bhreatainn 1970) were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, from 16 to 25 July 1970. This was the first time the name British Commonwealth Games was adopted, the first tim ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, he fared better, reaching the quarter-finals of the men's singles before losing to the eventual gold medalist,

Jamie Paulson Jamie Paulson (born April 26, 1948) is a Canadian former badminton player who won national and international titles from the late 1960s to the mid-1970s. In 1970 he won the men's singles at the quadrennial 1970 British Commonwealth Games making ...

from Canada. In both the men's doubles and mixed doubles, he was eliminated in the round of 16. In 1974, at the

British Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

, Purser was again defeated by Jamie Paulson in the quarter-finals. In the men's doubles, partnering his brother Bryan, he was eliminated in the round of 16, while in the mixed doubles he and partner Alison Branfield finished fourth, losing the bronze medal play-off to the English combination of

Susan Whetnall Susan Whetnall (born 11 December 1942 in Swanley, 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 t ...

and

Elliot Stuart Elliot Clarke Stuart (born 1946) is a former English international badminton player. Badminton career Stuart was a winner of the All England Open Badminton Championships. He won the 1975 All England Badminton Championships mixed doubles with ...

. At his final Commonwealth Games, in

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

, Purser reached the quarter-finals of the men's singles, again finished fourth in the mixed doubles with Alison Branfield, and won the bronze medal with his brother Bryan in the men's doubles. In the mixed teams event, Purser was a part of the New Zealand team that finished fourth, losing to Malaysia in the play-off for the bronze medal. In 2003, after running summer badminton training camps in Austria for 14 years, Purser returned to New Zealand and competed in the men's doubles, paired with

Phil Horne Philip Andrew Horne (born 21 January 1960) is a former New Zealand cricketer who played in 4 Tests and 4 ODIs from 1987 to 1990. He also represented New Zealand in badminton at the 1986 Commonwealth Games. Horne was born in Upper Hutt on 21 Ja ...

, at the North Harbour Open. In 2007, Purser, then aged 65, and Horne competed at the New Zealand Open, reaching the round of 16.

Squash

Purser began playing

squash Squash may refer to: Sports * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling * Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...

in New Plymouth as part of his training for badminton. He went on to represent New Zealand at masters level. At the 2001 World Masters Squash Championships in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Purser won the men's 55–59 age group title. In 2009, he won the men's 65–69 category at the World Masters Squash Championships, held in Christchurch.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Purser, Richard 1942 births Living people People educated at New Plymouth Boys' High School Badminton players at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Badminton players at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games Badminton players at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games Badminton players at the 1978 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for New Zealand New Zealand male badminton players Commonwealth Games medallists in badminton New Zealand male squash players Senior sport competitors Medallists at the 1978 Commonwealth Games