Chloe and Anshita team up for U19 doubles success in Lanarkshire Junior Open
Caithness Junior Badminton Club players Sophie Mackay and Chloe Mackenzie took part in the Lanarkshire U15/U19 Junior Open at the Alistair McCoist Complex in East Kilbride.
All the draws were played in group stages, with top two from each going through to play-offs, apart from the girls’ U15s doubles which was a round-robin format.
The tournament saw Sophie (11) playing up an age group, and she did remarkably well.
Sophie was in Group B in the U15 girls’ singles and she won two of her three matches, placing her in the quarter-finals, where she fought hard against Emma Joshua (Lothian) but lost 21-17, 21-8.
Sophie played with Josie Columbine from Fortrose in the U15 girls’ doubles. They won two of their four matches, placing them third.
In the U15 mixed doubles Sophie played with Yingfan Wang (Lothian). They had a tough group, winning one of their three games to finish third.
Sixteen-year-old Chloe topped Group B of the U19 girls’ singles, winning all her matches. She progressed straight into the semi-finals as she obtained a bye winning Group B.
She played Tsz Ying Lee (Glasgow and North Strathclyde) and Chloe dominated from the start, winning 21-12, 21-16.
Her opponent in the final was Jaagruti Mannem (West of Scotland). Chloe battled through severe cramp in her hamstrings, caused by the hot weather, and she lost 21-9, 21-14.
Chloe teamed up with Anshita Jaiswal (Glasgow and North Strathclyde) in the U19 girls’ doubles and they were unstoppable in the group stages, winning both their games and dropping only 37 points over the four sets.
In their semi-final against Tsz Ying Lee and Jaagruti Mannem, Chloe and Anshita won 21-14, 21-14.
Their opponents in the final were Lanna Campbell (Lanarkshire) and Gemma Foulis (Orkney). Chloe and Anshita were well in control in the first set, winning it 21-15, then lost the second set 21-17, but they fought back to take the third 21-12.
Chloe played with Callum McWhirter from Elgin in the U19 mixed doubles and they won two of their group games to reach the semi-finals. They came up against number two seeds Lanna Campbell and Thomas Fragell (Aberdeen), with the seeded pair taking the win 21-16, 21-13.