CHRIS and Gabby Adcock may have been making all the badminton headlines with GB’s first-ever World Series title win in Dubai but closer to home Alveston Juniors were impressing in the Warwickshire restricted singles event in Warwick.
Alveston came away with three gold medals, a silver and four bronze after the event attracted another strong entry of 85 aspiring young badminton players at St Nicholas Park Leisure Centre during Saturday’s all day event.
The club’s first gold came from Ollie Wear, who overcame a patchy start to beat Leamington’s Luka Stanley 21-12 in the Under-12s boys’ final.
The day also finished in style as Alveston won both the boys’ and girls’ U16 events.
Tom Smith beat Rugby’s Alex Zhou 21-13 in the final having come through the group stages unbeaten and continuing through the quarters and semis. In the girls’ category, Tabitha Sinclair also went through the day undefeated to wrap up a successful day for the club.
Thomas Weaver improved on his U11s bronze earlier in the year when he lost the U10s final to Birmingham’s Zafer Ahmed to take silver.
Across the hall, team-mate, Venus Aun, took bronze in the U10 girls’ event. In what was her first tournament she came agonisingly close to silver, having lost one of her matches by the slender 21-20 margin.
It was a tight affair too, in the U12 girls event, where Amy Dunnakey finished equal on wins with Kingsley School’s Louisa Hudson with Amy getting the verdict due to their head to head in the group stage.
In the U14 events, Alveston had to be contents with a bronze in each category.
Faith Christopherson went out 21-16 in the girls’ semi-final to eventual winner Esha Tumber from Coventry Racqueteers whilst Noah Smithson lost narrowly 21-17 to Rugby’s Daniel Burgess, also at the last four stage.
