English Players dominate the podium at 4 Nations Parabadminton Series 2011 English Championships

The 4 Nations Parabadminton Series 2011 English Championships came to a thrilling conclusion after a weekend full of top-quality badminton at Stoke Mandeville Stadium in Aylesbury. English players’ impressive performances secured 23 of the 25 Gold medals available, only missing out when Scotland’s Connor McFarlane took the Men’s Standing Half-Court Singles over William Smith (Nld) and Niall McVeigh (Ireland) overcame Andrew Martin (Kent) after a three game battle in the final of the Dwarf Men’s Singles.

Possibly the best game of the weekend was Bobby Griffin’s (Avon) exhilarating win over Bruno Forbes (Mdx) in the final of the Men’s Standing Full Court Singles. After Forbes controlled the first game, Griffin fought back to level the match. Forbes’ greater experience looked set to tell as he went into an 18-10 lead in the decider, but Griffin staged a remarkable comeback, dropping his racquet and roaring in delight as he clinched a 17-21, 21-18, 21-19 victory. Forbes did not have to wait too long to gain a measure of revenge however, as he teamed up with Daniel Lee (Mdx) to beat Griffin and partner Steven Moodie (Scotland) in the final of the Standing Combined Men’s Doubles 21-16, 21-16.

Paula Robinson (Notts) was the biggest winner in the wheelchair category. After taking the Wheelchair Ladies Singles 21-15, 21-9 over Nottingham Blazer’s club-mate Bernadette O’Driscoll, Robinson then secured the Wheelchair Ladies Doubles. Robinson was partnered by Erica Vey (Herts), who impressively took Gold in her first 4 Nations event, as they beat O’Driscoll and Katherine Last (Devon) 21-13, 21-15. In the last final of the day, Robinson completed her hat-trick as she and partner Owen Kilburn (Notts) took the Wheelchair Mixed Doubles crown with a 21-16, 21-19 victory over Denny Vettom (Bucks) and Sharon Jones-Barnes (Mdx).

Home advantage was evident in the Men’s Wheelchair singles, as both the Class 1&2 and Class 3 Gold medals were taken by members of Phoenix BC, based at Stoke Mandeville. Martin Rooke (Bucks) defended the Class 3 title he won at the Scottish Championships in February, triumphing 21-17, 21-13 over Meva Singh Dhesi (Mdx). Denny Vettom looked confident as he took the Class 1&2 Singles Gold for the first time, overcoming Owen Kilburn in straight games 21-16, 25-23. Vettom couldn’t quite secure another Gold as he and Phoenix club-mate Phillip Tew (Bucks) went down to Rowan Crossman and David Follett (Devon) 23-21, 21-12 in the final of the Wheelchair Combined Men’s Doubles.

In the Dwarf events, Men’s Doubles World Number One pair Andrew Martin and Ollie Clarke (Kent) showed their class as they comfortably overcame Niall McVeigh and Luke Irvine (Ireland) in the final. Martin made it a double delight by winning the Dwarf Mixed Doubles alongside Rachel Choong (Lancs), showing their class to beat Krysten Coombs and Lucy Wilkinson 21-8, 21-7 in the final. Choong outlined her dominance by also taking the Ladies Doubles title alongside Jenny Greasley and overpowering Emma Farnham (Ireland) 21-5, 21-5 in the final of the Ladies Singles. Twelve-year-old Isaac Dalglish (Lancs) confirmed his billing as a star of the future by taking the Dwarf Boy’s Singles title 21-8, 21-15 over Scotland’s Bobby Laing.

Players from Bolton Lads & Girls Club dominated the LD events, taking 5 Golds and 7 Silvers back up the M6 at the end of the weekend. Stand out performers included Sam Muchamp, who took the Class 1 Men’s Singles, Doubles and Mixed Gold medals and Emily Eyre, who was triumphant in the Ladies Singles and Doubles alongside Laura Ferguson (Durham).

Amongst the impressed on-lookers over the weekend were England internationals Sarah Walker and Andy Ellis, who as well as awarding medals and signing autographs were also called into action in the umpire’s chair!

BADMINTON England Disability Manager Tom Webster was delighted that the weekend’s events:
“The Championships was a fitting conclusion to the domestic parabadminton season, at a stunning venue for disability sport. The standard of play was exceptional and I’m sure everyone in attendance was impressed with the skill, athleticism and camaraderie on show. The atmosphere of the 4 Nations really is unparalleled. We had a record entry in the physical disability categories and it’s great to see so many new players on show. The game continues to grow, particularly through the hard work of coaches, players and the Inclusive Clubs to grow parabadminton. The players’ focus will now turn to Dortmund and the German International Parabadminton Open in June, and I’m sure they will all perform with distinction.”

Full results from the weekend’s action are available here:

http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/tournament.aspx?id=5D57F851-4B16-4305-995F-76AE4AEFF81E

Clubs on the Inclusive Clubs programme had a fine weekend, securing 23 medals between them:
Phoenix BC (Aylesbury) – 3xG; 2xS
Knebworth BC (Herts) – 1xG
St Aidan’s JBC (Durham) – 1xG
Orpington Juniors BC (Kent) – 2xG, 1xS
Bolton Lads & Girls Club BC (Lancs) - 5xG; 7xS.
Cranford Club (Devon) 1xG