Badminton duo upset the odds to win national title

Feb 11 2010 by Andrew McGilvray, Hamilton Advertiser

Badminton duo upset the odds to win national title

HAMILTON badminton ace Jamie Neill this week spoke of his joy after he and partner Keith Turnbull defied the odds to be crowned Scottish National Champions.

Second seeds Neill and Turnbull, from Larkhall, dumped overwhelming favourites Watson Briggs and Paul Van Rietvelde in a thrilling three-game doubles final at the Bell’s Sports Centre in Perth on Sunday.

While Briggs and Van Rietvelde are fully-funded, Neill and Turnbull are self-funded, using their jobs as coaches at Esporta in Hamilton to finance their competitive play.

Jamie, 25, said: “It was a thrilling final and our first at national level. We usually go close but never quite get there.

“We weren’t expected to win but that’s just one of those things. We’re self-funded and spend more of our time on court as coaches, rather than as players.

“There isn’t a lot of funding available in badminton and so many players are lost to the sport for that reason, but it can be done without funding.

Meanwhile, Bothwell’s Kirsty Gilmour will be part of Scotland’s team hoping to get through the Uber Cup’s Euro qualifier in Poland next week.