The Scottish Disability Sport Lothian Disability Badminton Championship provided a feast of competition and tensely-fought encounters on Saturday, with titles galore being won in Edinburgh.
It was hosted at Napier University by Lothian Disability Badminton Club and Scottish Disability Sport, and run by Roselind and Alistair Hall with support from David Gillespie as well as volunteers from Edinburgh University.
And the action itself saw some excellent badminton on show with some truly eye-catching individual performances giving fans a terrific spectacle.
Michael McCraw defeated Murrie Robertson in two games in the final of the LD men’s singles Division 1 final.
After defeating McCraw 21-18 in the round robin earlier in the day, Robertson lost out in the final as his opponent sealed a 22-20 21-12 victory.
It was Mahesh Bhatt who was left celebrating in Division 2 after battling past Dean Bernard 16-21 21-19 21-11.
Bhatt had to come from behind against Bernard, who started the quicker despite losing to his opponent in the round robin stage. Bhatt’s only defeat came in the round robin at the hands of Derek Tomkinson.
In Division 3, Ross Doig found an extra gear as he defeated Alistair Daniels in the final, in three games.
Daniels had looked the strongest player in the competition and had topped Group A in qualifying, with Doig finishing second after Daniels had beaten him 21-17 in the round robin.
And the two met again in the final but it was Doig who seized his moment, sealing a 21-16 19-21 21-6 success.
Diane Gillan dominated the LD women’s singles Division 1 throughout the competition, dropping just 22 points across all her matches.
Qualification successes against Louisa Ramsay (21-6) and Caitlyn De Souza (21-1) set up a semi-final clash with Jaz McNeil.
However, she powered through 21-3 and had the beating of Kerry Duncan in the final, sealing victory with a 21-8 21-4 scoreline.
In the women’s Division 4 singles it was Emma Stewart who claimed the glory – winning two from two against Sharon Munro and Claire Jeffray to seal top spot in qualification standings.
Pitted against Munro in the final, Stewart overcame her spirited opponent 21-9 21-15 to take the title, while Mary Wilson was too good for Laura Halil in the standing ladies combined final, the former sealing a 21-11 21-19 victory.
Colin Leslie got the better of Rory McLaren in the SL3 singles, Leslie taking the first game 21-11 before edging a closer second 21-15.
While in the SL4 singles, Jamie Munro was no match for David Purdie, who looked comfortable throughout as he secured a 21-8 21-11 triumph.
The SS6 singles threw up some tasty ties, but ultimately it was Bobby Laing who would prove to be a cut above the rest of the field, winning without conceding a game.
He topped his qualification group with two wins from two, dropping just 16 points in the process, to set up a semi-final against Jack Purvis.
Purvis was beaten 21-4 21-5, with Andrew Davies awaiting Laing in the final, having enjoyed three wins from three in his own qualification group before battling past Ross Foley in a three-set semi-final encounter.
But despite proving to be Laing’s sternest test of the tournament, Davies fell just short with the former triumphing 21-9 21-9. Laing would also go on to beat Leslie in the standing combined final 21-17 21-14.
The LD men’s doubles saw Grant Hunter and James Pert prevail, beating Kevin Dobson and McCraw 21-17 21-18 in the final after finishing as the top two pairings in Division 1.
While Gregor Hardie and Peter Sabine beat Doig and Campbell Reynolds 21-16 16-21 21-13 in the Division 2 doubles final and Becca O’Callaghan and Ramsay won the women’s doubles by beating Duncan and Stewart 21-18 9-21 21-18.
The combined mixed doubles saw a victory for Leslie and Wilson, beating Munro and Halil 21-4 21-12, while Pert and Gillan topped the LD mixed doubles Division 1 after four wins from four.
The final three categories saw mixed doubles Division 3 success for Hardie and Jeffray as they beat Reynolds and De Souza 21-19 15-21 21-14.
In the SS6 doubles combined it was Foley and Davies who took the glory with a 21-8 21-11 win over Finlay Davidson and Purvis in the final, while Leslie and Purdie got a walkover in their standing combined doubles final as Laing and Munro could not take to the court.
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