Top spot for Comets

International badminton made a welcome return to the local sports scene with the fifth edition of the Friendship Trophy, held last weekend at St Martin's College.

This year's tournament featured four British teams namely, Comets BC, Horsforth BC, Wimbledon BC and Clandon BC. Local opposition was provided by Pawla Wolves SC and Msida Arrows BC.

The tournament was run in accordance with the rules of the International Badminton Federation. On the first day of the event, the six squads were divided into two groups and played each other on a league basis over a single round. Each fixture consisted of five separate games - men's singles, ladies' singles, men's doubles, ladies' doubles and mixed doubles.

Horsforth topped Group A, after wins over Clandon (5-0) and Pawla Wolves (4-1). The Wolves clinched the runner-up berth with a 4-1 win over Clandon.

First place in Group B was claimed by Comets after they beat Wimbledon (3-2) and Msida Arrows (5-0). Wimbledon were second after a 5-0 win over the locals.

In the final, Comets secured the tournament title after defeating Horsforth 3-2. Pawla had the better of Wimbledon, winning with an identical 3-2 scoreline, to secure third place.

In the second day of the event, all the participating players took part in singles' competitions, played on a knock-out basis.

Vella in final

The Wolves' captain, Kenneth Vella, made it to the men's singles final after obtaining wins over Nick Pinnock and Russell Binns. His opponent was the Horsforth captain, Craig Liversage, who defeated Neil Parke and Robert Heuting.

Vella won the first set 15/7 but Liversage reacted strongly and, after winning the second set 15/1, went on to clinch the third 15/11 to win the title.

The ladies' singles final was an all-Comets affair between Helen Steer and Romana Rehman. The former made the title her own with an 11/3 13/10 win.

A spokesman for the local Badminton Association expressed satisfaction at the positive result obtained by the Pawla Wolves squad in the tournament. He stated that such events assisted the further improvement of local players while strengthening the existing good relations between Maltese and British badminton.

The spokesman also thanked the MOC, St Martin's College and Deutschland Minibus Services for their valuable assistance.