So close to treble as Chambers wins first title of season

Alpha’s Sinead Chambers won her first title of the 2015-16 season at the Mount Pleasant Open. However, the local girl could have had a hat-trick of titles.
Sinead Chambers who won her first title of the season at the Mount Pleasant Open.  However she could have had a hat-trick of titles.Sinead Chambers who won her first title of the season at the Mount Pleasant Open.  However she could have had a hat-trick of titles.
Sinead Chambers who won her first title of the season at the Mount Pleasant Open. However she could have had a hat-trick of titles.

Sinead teamed up with Jennie King to lift the Arnolds Hotel Women’s Doubles title at the weekend, and she could have returned from the Mount Pleasant Open with a hat-trick having finished as runner up in both the Mixed Doubles and the Womens Singles.

Sinead though shouldn’t be too despondent as there were upsets and disappointments galore in this pipe-opener to the Irish badminton calendar as Sinead and Jennie were the only No1 seeds to bring home any silverware.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The pair were members of the Irish Team which competed in the European Mixed Team qualifiers last November but lost their places for the Finals held in Belgium.

They didn’t get their quest for honours this season off to a very distinguished start though when they took 44 minutes to knock out Fiona and Pauline Glennon 21-13 in the deciding set in their First Round.

They then cantered through to lift the title 21-6 21-13 beating Lucie Corcoran and Crona Rooney in the final.

Not unexpectedly, Sinead was unseeded in the EBS Womens Singles having last season been concentrating on the Mixed and Womens Doubles.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

But Sinead proved too strong for the top seed Lucie Corcoran in the quarter-final match, winning 21-15 21-13 and then recorded a 21-17 21-13 victory over Moya Ryan in the semis.

However, any prospects of her lifting the Womens Singles title were soon to be dimmed somewhat as the unseeded Sara Boyle, who had recorded a 21-16 21-12 victory over one of Ireland’s top young prospects Clodagh Dunne, was to capture the title 21-12 21-16.

Sinead and her brother Ciaran were seeded number one to lift the Herbert Park Hotel Mixed Doubles and despite a close 21-19 21-16 victory over Willie Stevenson and Sylvia Campion in Round Two, they were to brush past David Dwyer and Orla Creaven in straight sets.

However in the final No3/4 seeds Owen Marron and Jennie King got their neck infront by taking the opening set 21-19 and were rarely troubled in the second winning 21-11.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

There was further disappointment for Alpha’s top Mens Doubles partnership of Tony Stephenson and Tony Murphy.

They breezed through to the final with wins over Craig Byrne and David Dwyer and Greg Farrell and Ryan Lee and they were to see off another seeded pair Mark Brady and Ciaran Chambers 21-13 21-18 before coming unstuck at the final hurdle, losing 21-8 21-13 to Owen Marron and Sam McKay.

In the Mens Singles Stephenson, seeded 3/4 was forced to retire early on giving Kevin Donnelly a quarter-final clash against Ciaran Chambers which the latter won 21-11 21-14.

Chambers pushed the unseeded Owen Marron all the way before losing 21-17 18-21 21-11 with Marron taking the title in three sets.