Laws courts a double success
BADMINTON
THE annual Northumberland Restricted Tournament - restricted in the sense only those players qualified for Northumberland can enter - attracted 80 entries across all the grades.
With notable absentees - including last year’s double champion Philip Pahatouridis, Lucy Dixon, Rachel Frobisher and Richard Eaton - the opportunity was there for new champions to emerge.
Eleanor Laws took advantage by securing both doubles titles, while the men’s doubles went to a muchdecorated past champion in Malcolm Lightbown.
The mixed doubles produced a close final, Laws combining with Elmfield club colleague Mike Smith to take the opening set against Ryan Jelley and Alison Thompson 21-18 - only to lose the second 21-14.
The third was close but Laws and Smith took an early lead and managed to keep their noses in front to run out 21-18 winners.
Last season’s losing finalists Eleanor Laws and Catherine Thomas looked determined to forget that disappointment, although the decider against Beth MartinBrand and Beth Grundy remained close throughout.
They established enough control to take the opener 21-18 and maintained the attack to clinch the second by the same score.
The group games of the men’s doubles saw all three seeds progress to the semi-finals, only Lightbown and Steve Swan losing a set against Garrylee McMullen and Michael Charlton - the latter making the semi-finals as best runnersup.
The first set saw McMullen and Charlton take the opening set from Ryan Jelley and Eddie Burgess but they levelled at one set all.
The decider was played in much the same vein but this time the top seeds established a lead and, try as they might, McMullen and Charlton could not catch up - eventually going down 21-18.
In the other semi, Lightbown and Swan just edged a tight opening set against Daniel Rogerson and Mike Smith 21-19 before taking an early lead in the second.
They needed all their experience to maintain it but held on well to take it 21-13.
The final did not live up to the quality of the semis - Lightbown and Swan running out comfortable winners in straight sets.
That made it 4 men’s titles for Lightbown, the last in 2013, and five for Swan, who retained the title he claimed last year with Eaton.
It was the third time the pair had won together, the last time being in 2004.