Local Badminton players played hard and fair in the spring version of the 2022 Rangers Sports Badminton Tournament which returned last weekend.
The Badminton tournament was played in the Loddon Valley Leisure centre on Sunday, March 27 following a successful version in autumn last year.
The tournament attracted a lot of badminton enthusiasts from the area with 45 teams participating and many members of the public turned up to witness it.
The teams were divided in nine groups of five teams each and the top teams were to qualify for the next round playing for two separate Trophies – Champions Cup and Rangers Cup.
While most Shuttlers were pleased with their performance in their four group games, only the remaining 16 went on to play in the pre-quarterfinals which produced eight quarterfinalists which were then down to the four semi-finalists for the two cups.
Champions Cup Final
Arguably the two most consistent teams made it to the finals and there was not a dull moment in the 2 set game.
Arijit / Bharat took an early lead in the first set but Jack / Jazz filled the deficient before the magic 21st point.
The second set was equally interesting with some critical rallies ending on unforced errors on either side.
In the end Jack / Jazz held their ground and emerged winner with a 2-0 victory taking them on top on the podium.
Rangers Cup Final
Yogi / Keerthi vs Shujha / Zaid
Rangers Cup final was a battle of techniques and power which was equally divided between the two finalist.
The first set was balanced and proved to be closer than initially anticipated. Shuja / Zaid took an early lead in the game with a very close 21-19 finish.
In the second set Yogi / Keerthi came back stronger with some serious muscle power in their armoury but in the end it was Yogi / Keerthi who took away the glory with a 2-0 win getting their hands on the Rangers cup trophy.
While Ranger Sports found their champions, there were more winners on the day especially the teenagers who gave experienced shuttlers a run for their money.
The young and promising duo of Arjun / Adhvyth particularly impressed the crowd with their extraordinary display of skills and power which earned them the – Ranger Sports recognition for Best Endeavour.
