Home   Sport   Article

Mackays prove unstoppable in Highland senior championships





Mark and Shona Mackay after their victory in the mixed doubles.
Mark and Shona Mackay after their victory in the mixed doubles.

Six players from Caithness took part in the 2025 Highland Badminton Group Senior Open Championships, with Mark and Shona Mackay celebrating victory in the mixed doubles.

The others from Caithness in the two-day event at Moray Sports Centre in Elgin were Carole Begg, Louise Campbell, Mark McCoustra and Chloe Mackenzie. Mark Mackay was also runner-up in the men’s singles.

Players from all over Scotland took part.

On the Saturday the action began with level doubles. The men’s doubles had 21 pairs competing, while in the ladies’ competition there were 10 pairs.

In the men’s doubles Mark McCoustra played with Orkney’s Drew Leslie and they won their round-of-32 match against Steven Cunningham and Tom Metcalfe 21-18, 21-19.

In the round of 16 where they lost out to Sachin Chandra Kumar and Kyle Mitchell 21-13, 21-15.

Mark Mackay played with Shetland’s Thomas Calder. They had a bye to the round of 16 where they defeated Gary Nicolson and Sam Rendall 21-13, 21-10.

Their quarter-final opponents were Kumar and Mitchell, with Mackay and Calder securing their semi-final place with a 21-15, 21-17 victory.

Next they came up against Ganesh Balaji and Siddhartha Singh, who edged it 24-22, 21-19 after some tremendous rallies.

The ladies’ doubles played group stages then play-offs, with top two in each going into the main draw and the bottom ones to a consolation play-off.

Shona Mackay and Chloe Mackenzie played together, topping their group before beating Rhian Owen and Joanne Pottinger 21-14, 21-18 in the quarter-finals.

In their semi-final, against Sophie Ford and Ella Haime, Mackay and Mackenzie won the first set 21-8 before losing the second and third 23-21, 21-13.

The pairing of Carole Begg and Louise Campbell were placed in the consolation play-off after some good but tough group games.

Begg and Campbell came through 22-20, 21-18 in their consolation semi against Laura Muir and Rachel Rennie. In the final they were beaten 22-20, 21-14 by Shona Ruesch and Joanne Wesley.

The mixed doubles had 21 pairings, with some great games and sportsmanship in evidence during the afternoon. Mark and Shona Mackay played together as the number one seeds.

They defeated Cameron Strachan and Emma Donald in the round of 16 (21-12, 22-20), Steven McGregor and Shona Ruesch in the quarter-finals (21-7, 21-9) and Thomas Fragell and Disha Nandish in the semis (21-11, 21-16).

Their opponents in the final were Andrew Reid and Jody Groundwater, with the Mackays proving unstoppable as they won 21-16, 22-20.

Louise Campbell played with Ross Groundwater and they were beaten 21-13, 21-10 by Thomas Calder and Ella Haime in the round of 32. Groundwater and Campbell lost out in the consolation round to Gary Nicolson and Gemma Foulis 21-16, 21-18.

Mark McCoustra and Carole Begg played together. They had a bye to the round of 16 where they played third seeds Kyle Mitchell and Keira Waddell, with the latter duo winning 21-9, 21-11.

This put McCoustra and Begg into the consolation event where in the quarter-finals they played Nicolson and Foulis. It went to three sets, with McCoustra and Begg taking the first 21-7 then losing 21-16, 21-17.

Chloe Mackenzie played with Callum McWhirter. They also had a bye to the round of 16 where they were beaten 21-13, 21-17 by Murray Spence and Leona Rhind.

In the consolation round of 16 McWhirter and Mackenzie defeated Sam Groundwater and Joanne Pottinger 17-21, 22-20, 21-14, before losing out 21-12, 21-15 to Peter Sawkins and Sophie Barrie at the quarter-final stage.

The Sunday saw the singles competitions, with 27 men and 14 women taking part.

In the men’s event Mark McCoustra beat Jake Lawrie 21-15, 21-7 in the round of 32 before losing 21-7, 21-11 to Ganesh Balaji in the round of 16.

Mackay, the number one seed, had a bye to the round of 16 where he faced Jordan Edgar, with Mackay winning 22-20, 21-10. Mackay overcame Sawkins in the quarter-finals (21-12, 21-15) and third seed Benedict Tan in the semis (21-19, 24-22) but he was beaten by the number two seed Balaji in the final (21-8, 21-18).

In the ladies’ singles Shona Mackay beat Leona Rhind 21-14, 21-14 in the round of 16 to earn a quarter-final against third seed Jody Groundwater. Unfortunately Mackay retired after the first set.

Chloe Mackenzie defeated Disha Nandish 21-12, 21-17 in the round of 16, then lost out 21-18, 21-17 to fourth seed Ella Haime in the quarter-finals.


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