Local lads on form in England

It’s not often a local player wins a top underage tournament in England, beating his Alpha team-mate in the final too.

Norman Lau, who lifted a double haul of titles in the Ulster U17 Championships back in September has now won the U17 Gold Tournament in Redbridge.

Lau beat Ryan Getty in the Ulster final and has now repeated the feat in England. The talented pair were also in the Ulster squad which competed with considerable prowess in the prestigious Sainsbury Games.

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Lau, born in Hong Kong, was to make an impressive start to his challenge in the U17 Gold Tournament, knocking out Rehaan Khan 21-19 21-11 and Shailen Patel 21-19 219 in the qualifiers.

Lau faced tough opposition in the semi-final, pitted against Jonathan Tang who won the Kent U17 Silver competition in November. The 16 year-old was in top form and won that match 21-15 21-12.

Having safely negotiated his way through the qualifying rounds, Getty had a difficult passage through to the final, being taken to three sets in both the first round where he defeated Nathen Rossiter 19-21 21-17 21-15 and in the quarter-final against Jordan Trebert – coming through 21-16 having lost the first 22-24. It wasn’t much easier in the semi-final either but he came through 24-22 21-19 against Max Flynn who won the 2012 U15 Cheltenham Gold Tournament.

Unfortunately for Ryan he was unable to show the same form in the final and Norman Lau dominated the match to win 21-14 21-9. This will give both Norman and Ryan the confidence to take on the very best not only at home but also on the mainland.

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