4 Nations Graded International Report
By Terrie Dalton
TEAM EVENT
On 19th and 20th August, Badminton Scotland hosted the third 4 Nations Graded International at the Sir Craig Reedie Badminton Centre in Glasgow. This event provides Welsh badminton players the opportunity to represent Wales against the other 3 nations – England, Ireland and Scotland, all of whom had brought very strong, competitive set of players.
Wales E
Wales E had a tough start against the current champions, England E, but sealed a close victory with a 3 -2 win after an outstanding performance from Dan Kite in the Men’s Singles, a tough three setter in the ladies singles for Emily Hung and a convincing win in the Ladies Doubles when she partnered Nerissa Lui.
Next up were Scotland E where Jamie Noble and Ellen Liddle’s pulled out a superb performance to take the Scottish Mixed in two sets. After a tough Men’s Singles, Scotland evened up the score but then a strong performance in the Women’s Singles gave Wales a 2 -1 lead. The Men’s Doubles pair of Matt Barrell and Andrew Salvador (Captain) sealed the match win with a 45 minute hard fought match, whilst Emily Hung and Nerissa Lui safely secured the extra point in the Ladies Doubles for a 4 -1 win.
The final tie for Wales E was against Ireland E. Wales showed no signs of letting the gold medal slip and convincingly won this tie 5 -0 with all pairs securing their games in two.
Wales F
First up was Ireland F for the Wales team. The team came out strong and determined with a 5-0 win. This tie could not miss the outstanding performance from Jess Markey in the Women’s Singles winning the game after 39 minutes, 3 setter (21-19, 18-21, 21-19).
Wales then came up against a strong English team with Will Vaughan continuing his winning streak with a 21 – 19, 21 -19 win. England came back strong taking the Women’s Singles to even the match. Jack Elvis and David Evans secured a point in tough 3 setter in the Men’s Doubles before a convincing win from the Ladies Doubles pairing of Megan Pritchard and Kelly Saunders. The final game of this set saw Gavin Kirby (Captain) and Terrie Dalton win a tight 3 setter to secure the 4-1 winning, winning the last game 24 -22 of the Mixed Doubles match.
With the gold medal in sight, a tactical change in parings was made which paid off in the first game with the new pairing of Jack Elvis and Terrie Dalton convincingly winning a strong Mixed Doubles pair. However, Scotland evened this up with the Men’s Singles game but Jess Markey put the team back in the lead with a solid performance in the Ladies Singles. The Men’s Doubles game went Scotland’s way to even the score 2-2. With the deciding game left up to Megan Pritchard and Kelly Saunders who showed great determination to seal the win in the fixture and the gold medal.
Wales G
The Welsh G team’s first match was against the hosts, Scotland. James Mitchell and Sian Elvis got a point on the board for the Welsh team with a tight 3 setter (20-22, 21-16, 21-19). Ewan Price and Maisie Kite produced incredible performances in their Singles disciplines to secure the win. The twin duo of Darius and Barry Garnham comfortable took the Men’s Doubles to add to the Welsh lead before Scotland pulled one point back in a close Ladies Doubles to give a final score of 4 -1.
Ireland G came out fighting in this fixture winning the Women’s Singles and the Men’s Singles to give them a 2 – 0 lead before the Women’s Doubles pairing of Sarah John and Rhian Owen pulled a point back to keep the win alive. The Garnham brother’s continued in their winning ways to even up the score 2-2, which left the fixture and gold medal hopes on the Mixed Doubles game. Sian Elvis and James Mitchell pulled it out of the bag to secure a 3 -2 win over a strong Irish team.
As both England and Wales had won their previous two matches, it all came down to this fixture for the gold medal. England clearly meant business coming out fighting to win the Men’s Singles before Maisie Kite evened up the score with a Women’s Singles win. At this point, Wales could feel the gold medal within their grasps and secured the rest of the games, winning the fixture 4 -1 to take home the gold medal.
Wales H
With England up first, Wales had a tough game ahead. Josh Westlake started the fixture with a Men’s Singles win to give Wales the lead. England came fighting back with a win in the Women’s Singles and then continued their winning ways in the three remaining games of the match. Although these games were hard fought the opposition came with a highly experienced, strong squad taking the fixture 4 -1.
The host nation meant business on their home ground taking the Mixed Doubles in a tight 3 setter, however the formidable force of Josh Westlake brought the tie to a draw. Scotland pulled the lead back after another tight 3 set win for the host nation. The Men’s Doubles pair of Alex Dalton (Captain) and Faiyz Islam faced strong competition from the Scots and kept the fixture alive and a possible silver medal with a convincing win. The final game of the match was a hard fought Women’s Doubles where the Scottish pair came out victorious to take the silver medal.
After narrowly missing out on the silver medal, Wales were determined to come home with a bronze and came out fighting taking the Men’s Singles and Ladies Singles with Josh Westlake and Janis Tsz Leung convincingly. Ireland fought back to take a tight three setter in the Men’s Doubles (22-24, 21-19, 19 – 21) before Abbie Price and Lisa John secured the win in the Ladies Doubles with another tight three setter, winning the 3rd 21-19. Not knowing the match and bronze medal was won, Roy Watkins and Sandra Lovell showed their experience and class to secure a 4 -1 win.
Team Wales clearly showed the hard work and development is paying off with the most successful year in terms of performance throughout the team since the event started. The team bought home 3 gold’s and 1 bronze which is an exceptional achievement for all those involved. Everyone on the team represented themselves and their country with pride and showed true sportsmanship throughout the event.
BALLOTED DOUBLES EVENT
Badminton Scotland introduced a balloted event on the 2nd day of the schedule to allow the players from the 4 nations to compete together in a friendly tournament. The event was split into two categories; E/F grades and G/H grades. See the report from Badminton Scotland below:
“In the E/F graded event, the final saw Zarak Khan (England) and Terrie Dalton (Wales) take on their respective teammates in Jack Elvis (Wales) and Rosheen Postlewhite (England). Khan/Dalton took the gold with a close-fought win of 21-18, with Dalton proving to be a formidable competitor across the entire weekend, where she didn’t drop game in any of her matches.”
“Elsewhere in G/H, there was a blend of mixed and level double pairings competing against each other. An impressive run from Barry Garnham of Wales and Ellen Davison of England meant they met Keegan Friel of Scotland and James Mitchell of Wales in the final. Friel/Mitchell claimed the win 21-13, however given the event was originally planned as a mixed doubles event, Friel swapped the gold for a silver to ensure Davison was rightly awarded the gold for being the most successful female player in the G/H grade.”
To add to this success, a special mention for David Evans, Ellen Liddle, Lisa John and Darius Garnham who featured in the Semi-Finals of this event.
A Note of Thanks
Events like these are note possible without the organizers and volunteers behind the scenes. Huge thanks to Badminton Wales including Donal O’Halloran and Huw John, (Team manager) who helped to organise getting the team to the event. Thanks to YC Sports and Yonex for their assistance with the kit, there were many comments that we were the best dressed team! Also thanks to Barry Garnham, Terrie Dalton and Alex Dalton for being Team Managers at the event. A special mention to Badminton Scotland: Peter Dean, John Holland and Stephen Hendry for making the event a great success and running so smoothly.