Karunaratne the Gold-en boy with double title glory
THE Northumberland Senior Gold, part of the Badminton England Senior Gold Circuit, returned to the calendar for the first time since 2019.
The first Gold tournament of 2022 attracted a bumper entry of 76 players – but the star of the show was world-ranked Sri Lankan Dinuka Karunaratne.
He emerged a double champion and barely put a foot wrong all weekend.
The men’s singles boasted six Agrade players and eight ranked in the top 50 in the country – including North East duo Philip Pahatouridis and Garrylee McMullen.
The latter made the quarter-finals before losing to top seed Ben Muir from Hampshire in two tight sets 21-18, 21-17.
Pahatouridis went one better in beating Yorkshire’s Jamie Bonsels in the last eight in three sets before going down to second seed Adam Dolman in the semis in three.
Karunaratne had meanwhile made serene progress to the semi finals from his 5/8 seeding, where he duly dispatched Muir in straight sets – some of his retrieving leaving his opponent shaking his head in disbelief.
That, combined with an immaculate length, made him a cut above the field.
The final followed a similar course with Dolman also going down in straight sets.
The ladies’ singles should have been the tale of two Allens, the top seed Rosemary from Essex and second seed Jessica from Leicestershire.
Aimee Whiteman from Wales had different ideas, though, making the semi-final by beating seed Evelyn Yu and Scottish No 3 Basia Grodynska - both in three sets.
There she met Rosemary Allen and, despite dropping the opening set, she recovered to take the match in three also.
Whiteman made a storming start to the final, taking the opening set to nine before Jessica Allen gradually worked her way back into the match to level at one set all.
Whiteman managed to keep her nose in front throughout the decider, taking the win 21-18.
The men’s doubles provided a further showcase for Karunaratne’s talents as he and Robert Golding from Middlesex defeated Middlesex teammates Angus Pedersen and Wai Lok Poon.
Rosemary Allen made up for her disappointment in the singles by taking the doubles.
Partnered by Oxford’s Natalia Mitchell, she made the final without the loss of a set and the final itself was to be no different as Katherine Arksey from Yorkshire and Sophie Watson from Leicestershire went close but went down 21-18, 21-19.
The mixed provided the closest contest with Angus Pedersen and Zoe Hallam, also of Middlesex, just shading it against Nathan Rossiter and Arksey 21-16, 17-21, 25-23.