Winston Wilkinson (badminton)

At the age of twenty, Wilkinson started playing senior interprovincial badminton.^[6] Despite being from Ulster, he was eligible to play for Leinster by virtue of the fact he was a student in Trinity College Dublin. Footage from 1960 of a doubles match Wilkinson played in against Ulster survives in the Irish Film Institute archive.^[7] That year Wilkinson was first called up to the Ireland national badminton team as a men's doubles player in a Thomas Cup match against Denmark.^[8]

Wilkinson played club badminton for Christ Church before joining Ballymacarrett in East Belfast during December 1967.^[9]

The 1960's saw Wilkinson dominate the men's doubles and mixed doubles national titles, with a sole men's single title included for good measure. Beginning in December 1961, Wilkinson succeeded in the men's singles of the Irish National Badminton Championships. The semi-finals of that tournament saw him paired against James 'Chick' Doyle, the reigning men's single champion unbeaten since 1953. Wilkinson received a walkover as Doyle withdrew. The final saw Wilkinson overcome Lennox Robinson in two sets.^[10]

Wilkinson represented the Northern Irish team^[11] at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, Scotland,^[12] where he competed in the doubles events.^[13] At the Games, partnering Sammy Blair in the doubles, they reached the quarter final before being knocked out by eventual champions Ng Boon Bee and Punch Gunalan of Malaysia.^[14]

Wilkinson also represented the Northern Irish team at the 1978 Commonwealth Games in Edmonton, Canada,^[15] where he competed in the Men's doubles event.^[16]

In the 1980's Wilkinson was an Irish team coach and a senior coach with the Badminton Union of Ireland.^[17][18] Wilkinson died in 2014 in Spain.^[19]