Chloe and Jody team up to take U19 doubles title at Highland Badminton Group tournament
Chloe Mackenzie from Caithness teamed up with Orkney’s Jody Groundwater to win the under-19 girls’ doubles at a major competition hosted by Highland Badminton Group at the weekend.
The group’s annual Badminton Scotland sanctioned B-grade U15 and U19 tournament featured 43 players from as far afield as Orkney, Stornoway, Aberdeen, Dundee and Glasgow at Inverness Royal Academy.
Chloe and Jody were top seeds in the U19 girls’ doubles event, which was played in a round-robin format, and they won all their games – dropping only 34 points over six sets.
In the U19 girls’ singles Jody (number one seed) got the better of doubles partner Chloe (number two seed) 21-12, 21-12, after some great rallies.
In the U19 mixed doubles, Chloe and Moray’s Callum McWhirter lost out to Aberdeen’s Thomas Fragell and Disha Nandish 21-19, 22-20.
Caithness’s Ashlyn Gunn and Isla Fraser from the Western Isles were runners-up to Snigdha Biswas and Akshara Chavan (both Glasgow) in the under-15 girls’ doubles, played as a round-robin.
Erna Thain from Caithness was a quarter-finalist in the U15 girls’ singles.
Caithness’s Angus Mackay and Rory Nicolson were beaten at the semi-final stage of the U15 boys’ doubles by number one seeds and eventual winners Drew Murdoch (Highland) and Kaliq Rafiddi (Glasgow). Donald Coull (Moray) and Finlay MacDonald (Caithness) also reached the semis.
Caithness’s Matthew Cook and Moray’s Rose Christie were semi-finalists in the U15 mixed doubles.
Tournament organiser Kerry Mackenzie said: “A massive thank-you to all the players that came along to compete, and all the volunteers that helped behind the scenes and on the day. Also, thanks to all the staff at the Inverness Royal Academy Sports Centre.”
