THERE were some hard-fought games in the Bolton Badminton league as clubs returned from the Christmas break with many matches going down to the wire.

In Section B of the league, GMT defeated Forrest D 10-8 in a match that went down to the final two games.

Judith Mealor and Tony Augustyniak, Forrest’s first couple, encountered two very close games, winning their first 21-18, and Margaret Barrett and Alex Smith, GMT’s second team, taking the second 21-19.

Wendy Jones and Gunian Pakrikh, playing first for GMT successfully claimed their two games, winning 21-19 and 21-18 against Louise Quayle and James Wallen.

When the third couples met, the spoils where shared with Mark Allan and Karen Holden winning the first, 21-16, and GMT’s Karen Hodgkin and Zayn Shah claiming the second 21-17.

When the first couples came face to face, GMT’s Jones and Pakrikh claimed the first 21-13, but Mealor and Augustyniak responded with a victory in the second game, winning 21-19.

Ninth-placed Forrest’s, Quayle and Wallen, won both their close games 22-20 and 21-18 against Barrett and Smith, when the second couples met.

Going into the levels doubles, both teams where level at 5-5, and with it all to play for the first pairs of ladies’ games were shared when sixth-placed GMT’s Hodgkin and Jones won the first 21-19 and Holden and Mealor claimed the second 21-18.

The first pair of men’s games were also shared when Forrest’s Allan and Augustyniak won a hard fought 24-22 in the first game, but Shah and Pakrikh took the second 21-13.

In another shared pair of games, Forrest’s Holden and Quayle claimed the first of the second pair of ladies’ games 21-19 and Hodgkin and Barrett took the second 22-20.

With a number of close games, the matches could have gone either way, but it was all down to the last pair of men’s games to decide whether it was a win or a draw. Shah and Smith claimed an easy first game 21-7, and then hung on to take the last game 22-20 against Allan and Wallen to give GMT the win.

The C Section was also treated to some very close matches when Metro A beat Sharples B 11-7.

In the opening games, the points where shared with Sharples’ second pair, Judith Stenson and Paul Bargh took the first game 21-17, and Metro’s Carole Lanham and David Smith claimed the second 21-16.

The second pairs of games also ended with points being shared, with second-placed Sharples’ Debbie Burgess and Alan Burgess winning their first game comfortably, 21-13, and Pauline Charnock and Steve Drinkwater taking the second 21-18.

When the third couples played, Metro’s Joanne Holden and Gary Richardson beat Marion Anderson and Matt Duckworth, 21-16, 21-14.

Metro’s Lanham and Smith won both their games 21-18 and 21-8 with victory over Burgess and Burgess.

Sharples then hit back when Stenson and Bargh won both their games 21-19 and 21-15 against Charnock and Drinkwater.

The score was 6-4 to Metro going into the level doubles and their ladies, Metro’s Holden and Lanham didn’t disappoint when they won both games 21-11 and 21-18 against Anderson and Burgess, putting their team favourite to win.

Metro’s men also claimed the first pairs of men’s games when Richardson and Smith won 21-19 and 21-11 against Duckworth and Burgess.

However, Sharples Anderson and Stenson claimed the second pair of ladies comfortably winning 21-13, 21-14 against Holden and Charnock.

The final games of the match were shared, the first a marathon 29-27 when Richardson and Drinkwater beat Duckworth and Bargh, who in turn, didn’t give up in claimed the final game of the match 21-18, although the victory went to Metro.