Home   Sport   Article

Dunnet duo represent Caithness Junior Badminton Club at West of Scotland Junior Championships





Two Dunnet badminton players represented Caithness Junior Badminton Club in the West of Scotland Junior Championships last weekend.

Sophie Mackay flew the flag for Caithness in the under-13s category, while Chloe Mackenzie entered the under-17s at the Sir Craig Reedie Badminton Scotland Centre.

Despite good performances in her pool games, Sophie could not find a way through to the next round in the under-13 girls’ singles.

However, in the doubles, she paired up with fellow Highlander Josie Columbine for the round robin phase.

Highland duo Josie Columbine and Sophie Mackay at the West of Scotland U13 and U17s Junior Championships 2024.
Highland duo Josie Columbine and Sophie Mackay at the West of Scotland U13 and U17s Junior Championships 2024.

Those two would eventually be runners up after winning two of their three matches - only losing to the winners 21-13, 21-15.

In the mixed doubles, Sophie would team up with Glasgow’s James Huang for another round robin stage.

This time the pair would win three of their four games, again losing only to the overall winner 21-10, 21-16.

Glasgow's James Huang and Dunnet's Sophie Mackay at the West of Scotland U13 and U17s Junior Championships 2024.
Glasgow's James Huang and Dunnet's Sophie Mackay at the West of Scotland U13 and U17s Junior Championships 2024.

In the under-17s category, Chloe would top her group in the singles tournament, only dropping 30 points as she won all her games to progress into the semi finals.

There, a tough challenge awaited in the form of top seed Jaagruti Mannem, who would eventually prevail in a competitive 21-12, 21-10 contest.

In the under-17 girls’ doubles, Chloe played with Glasgow’s Anshita Jaiswal, where they topped their group without losing a game.

In the semi finals, the duo of Cathy Luo and Gracia Mak awaited, but Chloe and Anshita saw them off 21-6, 21-5 to comfortably book their place in the final.

Dunnet's Chloe Mackenzie and Glasgow's Anshita Jaiswal at the West of Scotland U13 and U17s Junior Championships 2024.
Dunnet's Chloe Mackenzie and Glasgow's Anshita Jaiswal at the West of Scotland U13 and U17s Junior Championships 2024.

There, Chloe was reunited with Jaagruti Mannem, who was paired with Shreya Vargheese, and all four teenagers played out a spectacular final.

Going the distance, it would eventually be Mannem and Vargheese who took the title, winning 21-17, 18-21, 21-14.

One final tournament saw Chloe team up with Elgin’s Callum McWhirter for the mixed doubles, where again they topped their group to go straight through to the semi finals.

Arnav Saraswat and Anshita Jaiswal stood in their way of progress, but Chloe and Callum won 21-15, 21-19 to set up a final against the top seeds, Luke Parkinson and Ingrid Wang.

Elgin's Callum McWhirter and Dunnet's Chloe Mackenzie at the West of Scotland U13 and U17s Junior Championships 2024.
Elgin's Callum McWhirter and Dunnet's Chloe Mackenzie at the West of Scotland U13 and U17s Junior Championships 2024.

Again it was a hugely competitive final, but Chloe again had to settle for silver as Parkinson and Wang won 21-18, 19-21, 21-9.

Chloe will have the chance to go one better this weekend as she travels to Glasgow to take part in the Badminton Scotland National Junior Under-19s competition.


Do you want to respond to this article? If so, click here to submit your thoughts and they may be published in print.



This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies - Learn More