English shuttlers triumph at YONEX All England Masters
England claimed 20 titles at the 106th YONEX All England Seniors (Masters) Championships 2024.
Hosted in Hatfield, the event saw competitors challenge across 44 events over three days.
Debbie Miller and Julie Bradbury triumphed in an all-English final to claim their second Women’s Doubles title in the 55 and over category.
Up against the second seeds Jane Ashford and Sara Foster, Bradbury and Miller won 21-19 21-15 in the final.
All smiles at the 106th edition of the Yonex All England Seniors Championships 😊🏸 pic.twitter.com/JMUtRQRmpF
— Badminton England (@BadmintonEnglnd) April 13, 2024
“We have worked all season, and it is nice to see it pay off in the end we are really pleased with our performance and very happy with the result,” Bradbury said.
“The number of entries to this particular event makes it extra special purely the volume of games that everyone has to pay, I’m very proud that England is at the forefront of badminton.”
Miller added: “We are preparing ourselves for the Europeans coming up. We really want to do well in that and this is a good stepping stone to get to that event.
“It is a really amazing event, so many players play it and so many people from overseas and we are really pleased that it is in England, and we can play it and it means a lot.”
England claimed all of the top four positions in two categories in Hertfordshire, with Caroline Hale taking the women’s singles title in the 55+ category, ahead of Jane Ashford, Allison Pearson and Betty Blair.
In the women’s doubles 70+ category, Betty Bartlett and Janet Williams claimed gold ahead of Anna Bowskill and Sylvia Penn, Eileen Carley and Jane Noremberg, and Janice Flower and Linda Scrace.
India’s Yasmeen Shaikh claimed the women’s singles 45+ title with victory over top seed Mitsuyo Kondo of England.
Congrats to all the singles YONEX All England winners yesterday 👏🏆
A few prize giving photos from day 1️⃣📸 pic.twitter.com/lNQRdlXknM
— Badminton England (@BadmintonEnglnd) April 13, 2024
She said: “I’m really happy to have won the gold medal for India, for my country. It is a great feeling, I feel honoured and humbled.
“I want to thank everyone who has been part of this badminton journey with me, especially my family and friends and the whole badminton fraternity.
“I have had some amazing support from my colleagues in badminton, especially Chand Chawat who is my mixed doubles partner as well, he has been extremely supportive throughout this tournament.
Shaik also competed in the women’s doubles with Spain’s Esther Sanz, reaching the quarter-finals, and she teamed up with compatriot Chand Chawat in the mixed doubles, losing a round of 32 decider to Chris Spice and Helen Milne.
Chawat said: “It is the 106th All England tournament so it is very prestigious to participate in this tournament.
“Winning would have been very good but to participate in this tournament is a big thing.
England’s John Bowler claimed two titles at the YONEX All England winning the open doubles 60+ with Donald Burden, beating Jan Petersen of Denmark and England’s Brian Wheatley in the final.
He came up against Petersen again in the mixed doubles final where he triumphed alongside Viv Gillard.
