HOME favourite Brooke Stalker served up a final place as the Babolat Dunfermline Badminton Championships returned for 2022 recently.

The competition, held over three days earlier this month at Carnegie Leisure Centre, was organised by Dunfermline Badminton Association and attracted a field of more than 70 players.

Competitors from as far afield as the Borders, the north of Scotland and even Orkney took their places in five events – the men's and women's singles; men's and women's doubles; and the mixed doubles.

Local interest centred around teenager Brooke, who has represented Scotland at age group European Championship competitions, and Calum Flockhart, who teamed-up with her to play in the mixed doubles.

Brooke, the niece of the late Russell Hogg, a Scottish international and Commonwealth Games bronze-medallist, also competed in the women's doubles, where she was the top seed alongside Jodie Harris, from Stonehaven.

After receiving a first-round bye, they defeated Katrina Chan and Ishbel McCallister 21-15, 21-12 in the quarter-finals before moving past Emma Donald and Rachel Maclean (21-13, 21-13) to progress to the final.

There, Brooke and Jodie played second seeds Lindsey Ireland (Aberdeen) and Iona Muir (Renfrew) but, after a close final, they lost 21-17, 21-16.

In the mixed doubles, Brooke and Calum won their first round match against Paul Scott and Gemma Foulis (21-9, 21-10) but were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Mark and Shona Mackay (21-12, 18-21, 21-14).

The Caithness victors went on to reach the final but, unfortunately, had to withdraw with injury, giving victory to Robert Dunn (Motherwell) and Kirsten Berry (Mauchline).

In the men's singles, Calum, seeded in the 5/8 bracket, did well to reach the last four, defeating Leo McMillan (21-16, 21-8), James Connell ( 21-4, 21-3), and Callum Crangle (21-19, 15-21, 21-9), before losing out to Michael McGuire, seeded 3/4, in a tight, three-set match 19-21, 21-14, 21-17.

McGuire lost the final 21-12, 23-21 to Callum Smith, of Duns, while 17-year-old Abbie Brooks, from Crieff, won a first senior open title by defeating Toni Woods, of Shotts, 21-19, 21-13 in the women's singles final.

The men's doubles resulted in a ding-dong final, where Thomas Bethell (Livingston) and Callum Crangle (Largs) defeated Glasgow pair Kenneth Cheung and Glen Lewington 21-15, 17-21, 21-11.

Tournament organisers thanked Carnegie Leisure Centre staff and officials from Badminton Scotland, for their support throughout the weekend.