Badminton: Melton Old Grammarians on course for more success

Following last season’s promotion, the men’s first team are well placed to mount a challenge for a second successive league title.

In a tight opening match at Mundella BC, the home team’s leading pair won all three rubbers, but the combinations of Neil Hunt and Steve Heath, and Martyn Aley with Simon Lenton won two each.

Bruce Baxter and Steve Moyses then clinched the match by beating their opposite numbers.

A 7-2 home demolition of Ashby BC followed as Andy Ballard stepped in for Martyn Aley.

The victory was driven by Neil Hunt and Steve Heath who claimed all three rubbers, with Andy Ballard and Steve Moyses, and Simon Lenton with Bruce Baxter winning two each.

A further win over Oadby BC leaves the Melton team in a healthy position going into the second half of the season.

Likewise, the OGs mixed team has started the season with three straight victories.

After beating Croakers 8-1 and Loughborough BC 9-0, the team then had a titanic match against Leicester Central.

Every rubber was closely contested, with Martyn Aley and Shirley Stephenson losing three tight games, and Steve Moyses with Carolyn Sayers shading two out of three.

The match swung on the last rubber when Simon Lenton and Linda Hallam won the third set, 22-20, against Central’s strongest pair.

The win left Melton OGs at the top of their division at the halfway point of the season.

OGs ladies have had a mixed start with a narrow 5-4 victory against Meltonshire Seconds offsetting a 7-2 defeat at Croaker.

There was a further defeat to a particularly strong Loughborough Students team who look on course to win the division comfortably.

Club captain Neil Hunt said: “We have to be very happy with what we have achieved this year to date given two of our teams are playing in a higher division this season.

“With membership increasing and the club attracting some good quality players of both sexes, we are well placed to maintain the healthy progress of recent times.”