Courage is displayed on a regular basis by athletes at the Commonwealth Games but there will be few in Delhi who can match the bravery of New Zealand badminton player Anna Rankin.
The 20-year-old from Invercargill faced an excruciating decision about whether to compete after her mother Gwenda died of cancer just over a week before the Games began. Rankin flew straight home from the team's training camp in Malaysia to be with her family.
She believed her mother would have wanted her to compete here so joined the team ahead of the mixed teams competition which began yesterday with a 5-0 hammering of Jamaica.
Rankin, who is a singles specialist, didn't take part in the match, watching on as her teammates made short work of the lowly ranked Caribbean players.
Donna Haliday, who tasted success in both the mixed and women's doubles, was full of admiration for Rankin and said the players had offered to provide comfort in any way they could.
"Of course we totally supported her 100 percent on whatever decision she made," Haliday told NZPA.
"She decided to go back to New Zealand, which was obviously for the right reason. She's come back and we've welcomed her into the team.
"She's very strong, she'll be able to handle it. She is, she's very strong."
Before leaving Invercargill, Ranking told The Southland Times about her torn emotions.
"Despite all the sadness I still find myself getting excited, and I feel bad about that," she said.
"But I know mum would be proud of me and she would be wanting me to go. I'm upset but I'm going to use it as motivation."
The New Zealand players show the benefits of three weeks' hard training in Malaysia with some slick performances, admittedly against a nation better known for their sprinting and cricket prowess than racquet sports.
They didn't drop a single set, starting with Haliday and Henry Tam's 21-14 21-14 mixed doubles defeat of Gareth Henry and Kristal Karjohn.
The singles matches followed suit -- Joe Wu beating Charles Pyne 21-13 21-17 and Michelle Chan outclassing Alya Lewis 21-7 21-10 before the rout was completed by two more doubles wins.
Men's pair Tam and Oliver Leydon-Davis held off Garron Palmer and Henry 21-18 21-18 in the tightest affair of the day while Halliday and Danielle Barry obliterated Lewis and Karjohn 21-1 21-5.
Haliday said stiffer tests awaited in pool matches today against Northern Ireland and Sri Lanka.
It steps up again tomorrow in their final pool fixture against tournament fourth seeds Singapore, who squashed Northern Ireland 5-0 today.
Finishing top of the group is a difficult but crucial goal for New Zealand. If they place second they are all-but certain to face top seeds and badminton juggernaut Malaysia in the quarterfinals.
Meanwhile, the New Zealand players have received forgiving first round draws for the singles competitions which begin this weekend. Ironically three of their four opponents are Jamaican.
In men's event, Wu has drawn another encounter with Pyne while Eunson will face Jamaican Garron Palmer.
Chan will open against Karjohn in the women's competition while Rankin must overcome Juliette Ah-Wan of the Seychelles.
