Year 12 final goes down to the wire after a day of top competition at Elstree School

TWENTY pairs took part in the Newbury and District Junior tournaments held at Elstree School.

There were two ages groups – Year 8 and under and Year 12 and under – and the tournaments were open to any pairings.

There were 10 pairs in each age group which was very encouraging for the sport in the district.

Each tournament was run with two groups of five pairs each with the winners and runners-up of each group progressing to the semi-finals.

Year 8 and under

Veronica and Saanvi won Group A with maximum points and two pairs tied for second place – Izzy and Garisshta and Advay and Siddhi, who went through to the semi-final as they had won a game more.

Group B had three pairs separated by two points with Shri and Krithik winning the group with 81 points, Scarlet and Alex second on 80 points and Saanvi and Kara on 79 points.

All three pairs only lost one game. Interestingly, Saanvi and Kara beat Shri and Krithik, Shri and Krithik beat Scarlet and Alex and Scarlet and Alex beat Saanvi and Kara.

It was the points scored in the games that were lost that determined the group placings.

The semi-finals saw Veronica and Saanvi take on Scarlet and Alex and Advay and Siddhi versus Shri and Krithik.

Veronica and Saanvi won their semi-final 21-11 and Shri and Krithik won theirs 21-18.

The final saw Veronica and Saanvi triumph 21-9.

Year 12 and under

Jenson and Nigel won Group A with maximum points with Matthew and Varshal second only two points behind.

Noah and Jasper won group B with maximum points and second place went to Yudeesh and Soorya, who were three points behind.

Both semi-finals finished 21-13 with Jenson and Nigel and Matthew and Varshal winning.

Having lost narrowly to Jenson and Nigel in the group game the final was a close affair.

A series of unforced errors brought the scores level and the pairs traded points until Jenson and Nigel were ahead 20-19.

With Matthew and Varshal winning the next point to square the scores again it fell to Matthew to serve.

Agonizingly, his low serve to Jenson was dropping short but landed on Jenson’s foot to give them the win by the narrowest of margins.

For the first time, winners and runners-up received medals and all competitors received certificates to confirm their participation in the event.