Badminton: Isle of Man finishes strong at Small States championship

Manx side claims back-to-back victories in play-off stage

The Isle of Man badminton team secured back-to-back wins to finish strong on the final day of this year's Small States of Europe Badminton Team Championships last weekend.

Victories on the final day of the event last Sunday (3 November) first against Monaco and then Liechtenstein saw the Manx squad claim seventh place overall at the second edition of the event.

Along with a positive finish, Isle of Man Badminton Association is congratulating Annelise Mellor for making her senior international debut for the Island during the championships.

A six-strong Island side of Leah Brennan, Alexander Buck, Jessica Li, Annelise Mellor, Matthew Nicholson and Baillie Watterson were part of two days of competition at the Cyprus Badminton Federation in Nicosia last Friday to Sunday (1-3 Nov).

Day one (1 November) saw the Isle of Man register a tough start in the group stages, opening with a 3-2 defeat to Greenland before a 4-1 loss to Malta.

However, they bounced back emphatically on Sunday (3 November) in the positions 7-9 play-offs.

First up was a comprehensive 5-0 win against Monaco - the mixed pairs of Buck and Brennan started the Isle of Man's winning ways off as the team would go on to take straight-sets victories in all five matches.

It was the same story in the final play-off contest against Liechtenstein as the Isle of Man ran out 5-0 winners again, once more in straight sets across all five matches.

Looking forward, the Isle of Man Badminton Association's attention now turns to the opening weekend of this year's Badminton England Senior County Championships on Saturday, 9 November.

Both Isle of Man 1 and Isle of Man 2 are competing in the same competition - Division 2 North - this campaign after Isle of Man 2 earned promotion last season.