The Capital International sponsored Under-19s Isle of Man Badminton Championships were played at the Roundhouse recently and showcased the Island’s best talent in the oldest of the junior age groups.
The Open Singles was first to get underway and saw a strong turnout with four competitive groups, with some fantastic battles throughout the group stages. After some thrilling matches, the group winners emerged: top seed Tommy Cheng topped Group 1, Under-13 and Under-15 champion Jet Woon continued his fine form to win Group 2, Jasper Corlett came out on top in Group 3, and Adi Malikireddy claimed victory in Group 4.
With the semi-finals set, Tommy Cheng faced Adi Malikireddy and showed his class with a dominant 21-11, 21-10 victory, securing his place in the final, while Malikireddy settled for a well-earned bronze. In the other semi-final, Jet Woon took on Jasper Corlett and emerged with a 21-12, 21-12 win to book his place in the final, while Corlett also claimed a bronze medal.
That left an exciting final showdown between Tommy Cheng and the talented young player Jet Woon. Cheng’s experience and precision proved too much on this occasion, as he dictated the rallies and controlled the pace of the match. Despite Woon’s best efforts, Cheng cruised to victory with a commanding 21-9, 21-8 scoreline, securing the gold medal and the Under-19 Open Singles title, while Woon finished with a very respectable silver.
The Women’s Singles event saw a smaller entry with a few players unavailable due to injury or holidays. As a result, the competition was played in a round-robin format, ensuring plenty of matches for all competitors.
Sofie Thornton and Laura Garrity both played with great determination, earning bronze medals for their efforts. Kelly Domingo put in a very strong performance, securing silver after a fantastic run in the group stage. Her match against Jess Thornton was an intense three-game battle, with both players giving it their all. However, it was Thornton who came out on top, edging the decider to secure victory and go on to win all her matches. With an unbeaten record, she claimed the gold medal and the Under-19 Women’s Singles title.
The Open Doubles event was next, attracting a good entry of players and saw great competition across three groups. The dominant duo of Lok Cheung & Tommy Cheng emerged as the clear winners of Group A, a similar pattern unfolded in Group B, where Adi Malikireddy & Charlie Kneale dominated winning all their games. Group C saw the most competitive action, with James and Will Osbourn finishing as the winners after a very closely fought 3 game match against Zane Quinn and Peter Quayle ending 21-15 in the decider.
This saw group A winners Cheung and Cheng progress to the final with group runners up Jet Woon and Ziyad Sulthan taking the first bronze. The semi final clash between Malikireddy and Kneale and the Osbourn twins went the way of the former 21-12, 21-6 to set up the final. It was Cheung and Cheng who proved too strong and took gold and the Open Doubles title in style, with the younger pairing of Malikireddy and Kneale taking a well earnt silver.
The Women’s doubles was played in a round-robin format, with each team facing off against the others. Jess Thornton & Annelise Mellor emerged as the clear winners of this event, demonstrating impressive teamwork and consistency throughout the competition. Fatima Syed & Sofie Thornton put up a strong fight, finishing with silver and Laura Garrity & Molly Bell took the bronze.
The final event of the day was the mixed doubles which saw 2 strong groups of 4 pairings battle it out for the title. Jess Thornton & Tommy Cheng emerged victorious in Group A, winning all their matches. Annelise Mellor & Lok Cheung mirrored their success in Group B, also winning all their matches earning their spot in the final. The bronze medals were awarded to the second-placed teams in each group. Molly Bell & Ollie Townell secured bronze in Group A, while Kelly Domingo & Jet Woon claimed the other bronze in Group B.
The final produced undoubtably the best match of the day and saw a balcony full of spectators treated to a brilliant 3 game nailbiter, full of long and exciting rallies in a match that could have gone either way. The scores were 21-19 and 22-20 in the first 2 games to go down to a deciding 3rd game. In the end it was Cheung and Mellor who just edged the victory 21-16 to claim the gold and Mixed Doubles title from deserving silver medallists Cheng and Thornton.
A huge thanks goes to our sponsors Capital International who kindly presented the medals to the winners, along with all our tournament organisers and umpires.
