No need for champions to burn the midnight oil

LATE nights don't get tiring when you finish them with a gold medal.

The Guernsey badminton team were at it again last evening as, two years after their famous victory in the Isle of Wight, they retained their title at the Bermuda High School with a 3-1 victory over a strong Isle of Man outfit.

This time, though, they kept their supporters waiting until only 10.20pm, rather than midnight.

The 2011 success came with the Sarnians being unseeded, but this time they were holders and top dogs. Everyone was gunning for them, but they could not be knocked from their perch.

Having seen off the Faroe Islands in the afternoon semi-finals, Guernsey had to come from behind in the final as talented youngster Ben Li inflicted a 21-18, 21-12 defeat on Paul Le Tocq.

LATE nights don't get tiring when you finish them with a gold medal.

The Guernsey badminton team were at it again last evening as, two years after their famous victory in the Isle of Wight, they retained their title at the Bermuda High School with a 3-1 victory over a strong Isle of Man outfit.

This time, though, they kept their supporters waiting until only 10.20pm, rather than midnight.

The 2011 success came with the Sarnians being unseeded, but this time they were holders and top dogs. Everyone was gunning for them, but they could not be knocked from their perch.

Having seen off the Faroe Islands in the afternoon semi-finals, Guernsey had to come from behind in the final as talented youngster Ben Li inflicted a 21-18, 21-12 defeat on Paul Le Tocq.

That put the pressure on Elena Johnson to get her side back on level terms.

Earlier in the day she had lost to her Faroes opponent and now she was up against Cristen Callow, a player ranked slightly higher than her, but someone to whom the Sarnian has never lost.

The Isle of Man girl did not give an inch in a real epic battle which saw Johnson take the first 21-12 before surrendering her lead 18-21 in the second.

But there was a determination about the Sarnian that ensured she would not suffer a first defeat to her opponent on this big stage and the fist pump when she won the final point to take the decider 21-14 emphasised just what it meant to her.

She would be at it again about an hour later, but that was after Le Tocq had joined forces with Kevin Le Moigne to give their team the lead for the first time.

They blitzed Li and Neil Harding in the first game, 21-10 in hardly any time at all – but the second was a completely different story.

For a while they lost their range while the Isle of Man pair found theirs and it seemed a deciding set was on the cards when Li and Harding had four game points at 20-16 ahead.

But the Sarnians hit their straps again and, once on a roll, they could not be stopped as they claimed six successive points to win their rubber and put Guernsey within one of victory.

Cue Johnson and Gayle Lloyd and a dramatic women's double encounter with Kim Clague and Laura Beggs.

The Sarnians took time to settle as the Isle of Man duo played some inspired stuff early on, taking the first game 21-18.

Johnson and Lloyd had to work incredibly hard to then claw back the next by the same score and set up a decider.

But nothing was going to deny this Guernsey team.

Johnson and Lloyd were now totally focused on the task in hand as they stormed into a 11-5 lead at the break and there was to be no coming back for the Isle of Man.

Match point first came at 20-9, but a slight blip on service prolonged the inevitable for a few seconds more before the celebrations could begin.

'That doubles, realistically we went into it thinking we should win, but I was struggling with cramp from the word go,' said Johnson.

'But because I did not play two years ago, I wanted us to retain it and for me to be involved this time because the team event is the one we want to win the most.

'We are buzzing now for the rest of the week.

'There's no tournament that's quite like it. Here it's non-stop and there's no time to get stressed about tomorrow because you are constantly on the go.'

Team manager Kathy Stuart said her team did not panic after falling behind early on.

'We know that Ben is an excellent singles player and he played really well, but what you have to remember is that this is not about just one match, it is the best of five.

'Elena addressed the balance, although she had never lost to Cristen, and that in itself is an added pressure, and I thought Paul and Kevin played very well in the doubles – they carried on from where they left off in the semis.

'We always knew Elena and Gayle had the skills and talent to beat the Isle of Man pair.

'They just needed to get going and once they found their line and length, they held their nerve well.'