Badminton: Bay put in competitive displays

The Bay of Plenty badminton team battled hard against some world-class competition visiting Rotorua for an inter-association competition.

The Badminton Inter-Association masters competition was held at the Rotorua Badminton Hall on Saturday, attracting former international players and Commonwealth Games medallists.

Five teams competed on Saturday, including Auckland 1, Auckland 2, Waitakere, Waikato and Bay of Plenty.

The first game up was Bay of Plenty versus Waitakere.

It was a tough tie for Bay of Plenty, but Bay representatives Nick Page and Tony Hall pushed Waitakere stars Geoff Bellingham and Darren Pyne to three sets.

Meanwhile, Bay players Delwyn Cooper and Wai Craven also tested Waitakere's Rebecca Bellingham and Val McLoughlin.

However, Waitakere ran away with the tie in the end winning 10-2.

In Bay of Plenty's later game they managed a tighter match against Auckland 1, going down 9-3.

The Bay team will draw positives from contesting four matches to three sets against Auckland 1.

In other games, Waitakere bet Auckland 2 12-0, Waikato bet Auckland 2 11-1 and Waikato bet Auckland 1 7-5.