Feniton youngster Owen Waters was part of the Devon Under-18 county badminton squad that travelled to Stoke Mandeville in Buckinghamshire to take part in the Shires final, writes Karen Waters.
The Shires League consists of 40 counties and the final took the top eight counties and consists of five events, men’s singles, ladies’ singles, mixed, ladies’ doubles and men’s doubles.
The ten strong Devon squad of five boys and five girls played Leicester in the opening game, comfortably beating them 17-3 and moving them to a play-off for a top four place.
They showed talent, grit and determination to take out a very strong Warwick squad in an extremely close game 11-9, progressing to the final two where they played Surrey.
They fought a close game and just missed out on the top spot, losing 13-7.
Finishing second meant they picked up the silver medal to bring to an end a wonderful season for the entire squad.
The team’s lead coach and also head coach at the Exeter performance centre Liam Cordery said: “The team have been very strong all year, and went unbeaten into the Shires finals. Every player has contributed significantly through the year and I am so proud of each and every one of them!
“The team approached this particular event with confidence after a very strong eighth place finish at the prestigious ICT event in Nottingham the previous week which would have been the best result at this event in 50 years if not for last year’s sixth place finish- a result many of this year’s Under-18 team contributed to.
“To place second in the country on finals day is beyond anything Devon County has ever achieved in the Shires League and the silver medal is something the player should treasure, and take great pride in.
“Devon Junior badminton goes from strength to strength due to the dedication and persistence of these gifted young athletes!”
To get involved in Devon Badminton visit www.devonbadminton.co.uk
Or email Liam Cordery @ Exeter Performance Centre exeterperformancecentre@gmail.com
The Devon Under-18 squad on duty at the Shires Finals was: Lloyd Skinner, Toby Leung, Liam Cordery (coach), Alex Moir, Owen Waters, Sam Clarke, Jess Hodge, Ellie Reed, Lauren Cole, Bronya Pike and Emily Killoran.
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