Alfie makes history with title defence
Badminton starlet wins second U11 title aged nine
An East Kilbride schoolboy is celebrating after a making history at the Scottish National Badminton Championships last week.
Nine-year-old Alfie Martin was in top form as he defended the under-11 title he won last year and also tasted success in the boys doubles with partner Ruari Davies.
Alfie is now the first-ever player at his age group to retain his title.
Youngsters from all over Scotland descended on Glasgow’s Scotstoun Sports Centre to compete for glory in the country’s youngest age group national championships, including players from as far afield as Kilmarnock, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Elgin
Alfie certainly made a big impression with back-to-back under-11 titles – no mean feat in an event which has previously been won by players of such high calibre players as Adam Hall, Alex Dunn and Christopher and Matthew Grimley.
He won all three group games before beating Findlay Welsh and Lakshya Sharma on his way to the final where he met Finn McQuade, beating the second seed 21-15.
The Our Lady of Lourdes pupil won his second title of the day when he partnered Davies to success in the boys’ doubles.
The pair beat Arnav Saraswat and Lakshya Sharma 21-17 in the final, getting revenge for suffering a shock 21-19 loss to them in the group stages.
Training 10 hours throughout the week, with competitions every weekend, Alfie balances his love of badminton with interests in handball and football.
Alfie, who plays for EKRR football club, was thrilled with his latest achievement.
He told the News: “I’m feeling very proud of myself for defending my title and being the first boy to do that.
“This is what I’ve been working hard for putting in lots of hours training and I’m so happy it’s paid off.”
Proud mum Clare added: “We are all extremely proud of the hard work Alfie puts in, as it’s not always easy he has to miss time with his friends and doing things normal kids so at his age.
“But when we see his hard work pay off, it’s all worth it.”
Following this success, Alfie now has a Lanarkshire restricted U12 singles/doubles and U16 mixed doubles event this week.
And next month he will feature in the Junior U14 inter area championships, playing for Lanarkshire .
But, as Clare revealed, he has bigger dreams than conquering Lanarkshire.
“His ambition is to play at the Commonwealth Games, she said.
“He decided this when he went to watch Kirsty Gilmour at the 2014 Games when he was just five-yearsold.”