Triumph for Nottinghamshire Blazers at the 4 Nations Disabled Badminton Championships in Scotland
The Nottinghamshire Blazers Wheelchair Badminton Club finished the final round of the 4 Nations Disabled Badinton Championships at the Inverclyde National Sports Centre in Largs, Scotland over the weekend of 3/4/5th. April 2009.
This, the second such annual event held in Scotland, forms part of a growing number of competitive badminton events held across the UK to promote the sport within the disabled badminton community. Competitors take part in events across four categories: wheelchair, standing, learning disabilities and dwarf, with many players coming back to Largs this year to successfully defend titles won last year.
Last year’s rivals in the men’s wheelchair singles category met up again this year, with Englishman Gobi Ranganathan lifting the title, beating Scotland’s Ryan McDonald (Glasgow) 21-18, 21-10 in the final. One of two losing singles semi-finalists, Dave Quarrie, teamed up Kevin Bettany (Macclesfield) to win the men’s doubles 21-12, 20-21, 21-12, taking the title away from last year’s winner Ranganathan and his partner Owen Kilburn Nottinghamshire Blazers..
In the women’s singles event, Paula Robinson beat Kirsty Jones 21-14, 21-11 with the duo pairing up in the women’s doubles winning 21-15, 21-9 against Laura Lee Jenkins and Bernadette O’Driscoll. Ryan McDonald was one of the finalists in the mixed doubles event playing with Laura Lee Jenkins, but couldn’t quite capture the title, defeated 21-14, 21-18 by Davie Quarrie and Kirsty Jones. A busy yet fun weekend was had by all.
Play started on Friday evening, going all the way through to the Sunday afternoon, with participants and officials having the opportunity to relax and mingle on the Saturday evening with the reception, hosted by sportscotland National Centre, Inverclyde, and dinner being well attended.
Thanks go to North Ayrshire Council for hosting a tournament dinner on the Friday evening. Provost Rae kindly attended and welcomed all competitors to Largs and the Disabled Championships. Stuart Paterson, BADMINTONscotland Past President, also attended, thanking Provost Rae and North Ayrshire Council and welcoming the players.
Article by Neil Archibald
Images courtesy of BADMINTONscotland © 2009
Nottinghamshire Blazers Wheelchair Badminton Club Results:
Paula Robinson Ladies Singles - Gold Medal. Ladies Doubles - Gold Medal
Berni O'Driscoll Ladies Doubles - Silver Medal
Owen Kilburn Men's Doubles - Silver Medal
Congratulations to Team Blazers.
Round 3 (Liverpool - February 2009) Summary here
