Cheshire Youth and School Age Restricted Tournament – 2023

About the tournament

We have entered into the competition which only happens once a year and it was not held in the past 5 years.

It is one of the biggest events of the year so far in Cheshire County for Junior Players. We wanted to go with a team as big as possible and I personally wanted to make sure I bring all players interested in learning more about the beautiful sport I love and cannot have enough.

It was great to see so many players around at the tournament, coming from Warrington competing for gold.

We had 2 categories U13 and U17, and disciplines of boy and girl singles and level doubles. Some of our players were much younger than their opponents, who were closer to the top of the age limit.

It was also nice to see players from Wizards Junior Badminton Club from Alderley Edge who do not play for the Network but train with me on Sundays during the season.

Entries of players from the Network

It was an individual tournament, but whoever reading this might want to know, which schools these players came from. At this point, I have to tell you that some players have never entered such a tournament before and the only expectation of mine for them was, to go through it, and experience it.

Here is the list of entries who could make it to the tournament:

U17 Chit Long Wu Aleph – Bridgewater High School
U13 Ho Yin Wu Azure – Bridgewater High School
U17 Matthew Baird – Bridgewater High School
U17 Michael Ng – Bridgewater High School
U17 Oscar Jones – Bridgewater High School
U13 Sik Fung – Bridgewater High School
U17 Suhan Wanjari – Bridgewater High School
U17 Thomas Dale – Bridgewater High School

U17 Karsten Lui – Sir Thomas Boteler High School
U17 Oscar Lam – Sir Thomas Boteler High School

U17 Tansy Siu – Padgate Academy

U17 Alex Todorov – Grange Senior School – Northwich

U13 Jessica Lillis – Hartford Primary School

U13 Chan Yi Tak Gabby – Marlborough Primary School

U17 Nidhi Tondham – The Blue Coats School Liverpool

U13 Navneeth Vishwanath – Barrow Hall Primary School

Some players could not make it due to serious injury right before the tournament or sudden illness. I personally thank them for their preparational efforts, Mia Shepherd and Keane Michael Wood from Bridgewater High School.

Results

There was quite a nice turn-up in the U13 category where girls and boys competed.

U13 Girls Singles: Sik Fung and Chan Yi Tak entered this category only from the Network. Sik has gained experience of what a competition looks like and hopefully, she will be involved in many more trainings to come. She has done her group matches well and we are proud of what she did. Yi Tak (Gabby) (9 years of age) won her group matches and advanced to the final where she was defeated by a girl higher and much stronger than her. We are proud of her SILVER and looking forward to next year when she has a bigger chance to win.

U13 Girls Doubles: Chan Yi Tak and Jessica Lillis (both 9 years old) have won most of their matches, only the final made a bit of bitterness when they met again with the most powerful girl in their group and they could not neutralize her smashes towards them and became Runner-up. We are proud of their 2nd place and looking forward to winning the category next year!

U13 Boys: Wu Ho Yin Aleph and Navneeth Vishwanath has been entered the competition at this age group where the future of Cheshire was played. Ho Yin could not get out of his group, there were some nice games from him but his opponents were much more experienced in competing at such a tournament. Navneeth won his group confidently and advanced to the knockout stage where he lost in the semifinal to the competitor who later became runner-up of the category. Reaching the semifinal at any tournament is always an achievement, so well done to you!

U13 Boys Doubles: Only Navneeth entered with a player outside the Network to get on the courts once more to show off his skills. They could play the quarter-final but lost to their opponents. They tried and fought well until the end of the match.

U17 Girls singles: The Network had 3 entries in this category prior to the tournament, which was reduced in the last minute to only 2 players. Nidhi Thondam and Tansy Siu had the chance to present their skills. It was a small group, unfortunately, but they had good games at least. Tansy won all her matches with confidence and defeat a county player in the final in 2 straight games securing 1st place. Wow and well done!

U17 Boys Singles: We had 10 entries in this group and therefore that was the biggest group in this tournament. Most of our players had no chance to get out of their groups due to County-level players along the way. They were much more experienced playing in such tournaments and less nervous in competitive situations. Karsten Lui, Alex Todorov, and Oscar Lam have won a chance to get into the knockout stage. Alex and Karsten drop out within the best 8, followed by Oscar in the Semis. We are satisfied and proud of their achievements, Well done guys!

U17 Boys Doubles: Not many of them wanted to play the most intense game, the boy’s doubles. Karsten Lui – Oscar Lam and Matthew Baird – Oscar Jones and Alex Todorov with a player from West Cheshire Performance Centre. They have aimed to get to the end of this category. Matthew and Oscar have tried to keep up the speed with other pairs but could not advance from their group. Karsten & Oscar and Alex with his Partner have played in semis and lost to the finalists of the category.

Wrap up

I am proud of all of them because they turned up to play at such an event. Whether their expected performance met with reality or not, in my head, they all achieved where I thought they should end up. If you feel disappointed, I recommend you to get in touch to sort out how can you join some of the training locations of the Network, we will definitely find a solution. Now is the time to take short rest and get prepared for the next season which starts in September. Have a great summer all, and play a lot, if you can!