Chloe and Sam Magee take Irish Open crown

CHLOE and Sam Magee delivered a majestic performance at the National Indoor Arena, Blanchardstown last night to secure the Irish Open Badminton mixed doubles crown.

Thanks to a straight games win (21-13, 21-12) over English duo Harley Towler and Emily Westwood, the Donegal siblings became the first Irish winners at the tournament since Scott Evans’ singles triumph in 2012.

It also brought Chloe’s longawaited search for a second Irish Open final victory to an end, after she previously claimed the women’s doubles title (alongside Bing Huang) in 2007.

At the end of a week when their younger brother Joshua and niece Rachel Darragh were also in action, the Raphoe pair were determined to make amends for last year’s final reversal to Gregory Mairs and Jenny Moore (England).

Despite falling 4-1 behind early on, a vocal home ground eventually helped them to settle. They subsequently moved into a 19-11 advantage by accumulating six consecutive points and held off an attempted fightback from Towler and Westwood to secure the opening game.

Although they encountered initial resistance when the play resumed, the end result was never truly in doubt. With their cushion standing at 14-11 deep into the second game, five points in quick succession was the catalyst for their latest career achievement - adding to their impressive bronze medal finish at last year’s European Championships.

RESULTS

Men’s doubles final: Choi Solgyu (Korea)/ Seo Seung Jae (Korea) beat Jack MacGregor (Scotland)/Ciar Pringle (Scotland) 2-0 (21-17, 21-12)

Women’s doubles final: Emily Westwood (England)/Li Lian Yang (Malaysia) beat Jessica Hopton (England)/Victoria Williams 2-1 (21-15, 19-21, 21-19)

Men’s singles final: Leo Rossi (France) beat Lars Schaenzler (Germany) 2-0 (21-17, 21-9) Women’s singles final: Se Young An (Korea) beat Ga Eun Kim (Korea) 2-0 (26-24, 21-17)

Mixed doubles final: Chloe Magee (Ireland)/ Sam Magee (Ireland) beat Harley Towler (England)/Emily Westwood (England) 2-0 (21-13, 21-12)