By JOHN VAN KLAVEREN
VICTORIA has successfully defended its national badminton title at the first Clendinnen Shield teams competition hosted in Geelong.
Victoria 1 defeated South Australia 8-5 despite losing the first two matches.
Badminton Geelong event organiser Craig Booley said it was a great effort from Victoria 1 to peg back an up-tempo South Australia.
Victoria 2 also improved, grabbing fourth behind New South Wales after its last place finish last year.
“The event has gone smoothly and the standard of play has been excellent. The depth in the lead Victorian team has shone through,” Booley said.
The Australian Closed Championships began on Wednesday, with local hope Jacob Scheuler among the competitors.
Individual competition finishes Saturday, with finals beginning midday at Norlane’s Leisure Centre.
The finals will also be streamed live on mysportlive.com with commentary from former Australian international Booley.
