Veteran Anne triumphs in Carlisle
Shetland badminton was represented at the recent 15th Cumbria Classic veterans’ badminton tournament in Carlisle by local players Colin Grant and Anne Wood.
In the 50-plus ladies’ singles Anne progressed to the final to play the powerful Janet Walker of England. A fine display of accurate, attacking badminton from Anne curtailed her opponent’s strongest shots and saw her win 21-12, 21-12 to take the title.
Colin teamed up with Irishman Nelson McDowell and progressed from their 40-plus men’s doubles group to play English pairing Justin Andrews and Steve Hubert in the semi-finals. Two close sets ensued with nothing to separate the pairings until the last few points. Andrews and Hubert took the match 22-20, 21-19 and went on to win the final.
Anne partnered Christine Graham from Ireland in the 50-plus ladies’ doubles finishing second in their group, missing a place in the final by the slimmest of margins.
In the 40-plus mixed doubles the Shetlanders paired up to compete for the Jeni Ferguson Trophy and advanced to the final against number one English seeds Julien Priestly and Bernie Babbington.
Colin and Anne put themselves under pressure, giving their opponents a six point lead in the first set, which they did not recover from and lost the opening game 21-12.
A highly-charged second set ensued with a variety of attacking shots in abundance. The favourites eventually secured the title with a 21-18 scoreline.
