Badminton : Double tops for Mason and Bankier in Paris triumph

In a thrilling finale to the night, Edinburgh's Emma Mason and Glasgow's Imogen Bankier pulled off a great victory against the No.?13 seeds from Thailand, Savitree Amitapai and Vacharaporn Munkit, at the World Badminton Championships in Paris.

The Scottish Champions won the women's doubles tie 21-17, 15-21, 21-15 and Mason immediately declared it "the tops."

Currently down at No.?88 in the world following a season's split as a pair, Mason and Bankier have hit form at just the right time. In October, they will be chasing medals at the Commonwealth games in Delhi.

Under the glare of the television cameras and on the show court, the magnificent victory earned them a second-round clash tomorrow against the unseeded duo of Lotte Jonathans and Dooremaien Paulien Van.

"This is right up there as one of our best ever wins," said 24-year-old Mason.

"We got a little tired in the second game, but we were determined to knock them out of their rhythm in the decider and it worked."

Having come off court after 10.00pm, the pair, who train at the National Badminton centre in Milton Keynes, were delighted to discover they have a day's rest before facing the Dutch couple.

In the women's singles Susan Egelstaff, the Bank of Scotland International Champion, took a lot of positives despite suffering a straight games defeat from the South Korean Seung Hee Bae. The 27-year-old from Glasgow, who will be defending the bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in October, put up a spirited effort before bowing out 13-21, 18-21, to Bae, the No.?14 seed.

"I did a lot of things right, but just gave away a few too many cheap points," summed up the player ranked ten places behind Bae at No.?27 in the world. "The top players give you nothing and so I have to try and rule out the unforced errors, but I was pleased with my fitness and especially my court coverage. Movement has been one of my weaknesses, but my coach Yvette has had me working very hard over the summer.

"Overall, there were a lot of positives."

In the men's event, Alistair Casey went out 16-21, 15-21 to Canada's David Snider, leaving fellow Glaswegian Kieran Merrilees as the only Scot in the Championships. He was playing Lithuania's Kestutis Navickas in the men's singles today.