Badminton: Cooper and Mason double up to beat old partner Bankier for title

Edinburgh's Jillie Cooper and Emma Mason gained a confidence boosting victory in the women's badminton doubles at the Yonex Scottish National Championships at Bell's Sports Centre in Perth.

A new partnership and seeded No.1, they battled back from a game down to beat the Glasgow pair of Imogen Bankier and Linda Sloan 15-21, 22-20, 21-15.

"That was a really hard final because we have both previously won the title with Imogen. It was tough for all of us," said Mason. "But this is just what we needed at the start of a longterm partnership."

In the mixed doubles, there was a first national title for Longniddry teenager, Paul Van Rietvelde. He joined forces with Bankier to defeat Cooper and Edinburgh's Martin Campbell 21-15, 21-12. Campbell also had to settle for a runners-up medal in the men's doubles with his Troon partner, Angus Gilmour.

The Lanarkshire duo of Jamie Neill and Keith Turnbull came from a game down to stage a successful defence 16-21, 21-18, 21-18.

In the singles, Susan Egelstaff clinched her sixth women's singles title and Kieran Merrilees finally claimed his first in the men's event.

Egelstaff, the No.1 seed, needed just 30 minutes to overcome fellow Glaswegian Linda Sloan 21-15, 21-18.