| 4 Nations Disabled Championships 2010 Welsh Leg |
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 Sport NI funded athlete, Niall McVeigh, was the first to take part in a final in the Dwarf Men’s Singles, fresh from his victory at the Dwarf National Games two weeks before. Unfortunately he was unable to emulate this success and finished runner-up. Later, Niall took to the court with Krysten Coombs from England to compete in the Dwarf Men’s Doubles final, and picked up another silver medal after a very tightly contested match.
Later Darren and Adam joined up in the Class 2 Men’s Doubles Final, in what was one of the tightest matches in the weekend’s Learning Disability competition. With the match going to a third set, Darren and Adam came back from 9-15 at one stage, to win the final set 21-19 and pick-up the gold medal. Not to be outdone by the boys, Claire O’Neill picked up her second medal of the weekend when she played with Joanne Varrell from Wales in the Class 1 Ladies Doubles Final, and won in two-sets. To round up the weekend, in the Learning Disability Mixed Doubles, Adam Smyth and Claire O’Neill picked up a silver medal in the Class 1 event, while Darren Day and Joanne Varrell finished runner-up in the Class 2 event. Overall it was a very successful weekend, with the 4 gold and 7 silver medals being evidence of all the hard work put in by the players and coaches over the past month in preparation. The next event in the Four Nations Series will be the Irish Leg in November, taking place in Dublin. The Club is open to new members, and anyone with a physical, sensory or learning disability interested in trying badminton can contact Terry Conroy on CLOAKING or 07789682446. Thanks to Terry Conroy for Report. |
The 2010/11 Four Nations Disabled Championship Series got underway on the 10th September in Cardiff, with 7 players from the Pan-Disability Lisburn Badminton Club being the only Irish players to travel to the event.
In the Wheelchair Ladies Doubles Final, Laura-Lee Jenkins paired up with Morag Johnston from Scotland, and made short work of their opposition, winning very convincingly in two-sets to claim gold. Laura-Lee also enjoyed success in the Mixed Doubles Final with her English partner, Gobi Ranganathan. After a winning a tough three-set Semi-Final on Saturday, Laura-Lee and Gobi progressed to the Final on Sunday. Despite going point-for-point for most of the match, Laura-Lee and Gobi lost over two-sets, to pick up a well deserved silver medal. Another notable performance of the weekend saw Michael Smith pick up his first win in the Four Nations Series in the Wheelchair Class 3 Men’s event, and finished 4th in his group of five.
Meanwhile, in the Learning Disability Class 2 Men’s Singles, Gary Bailie and Darren Day both made it to the semi-finals, but unfortunately both failed to make the final despite strong performances. Adam Smyth also made the semi-final of the Class 3 Men’s Singles. However, Claire O’Neill had more success, making it to the final of the Class 1 Ladies Final, to finish runner-up.