LAUNA Eyles, of Wellington, has won a silver medal at the European Senior Badminton Championships.

Held in Sardinia, Italy, the Senior European Championships saw nearly 1500 players from 34 countries fight it out for the medals in categories from +35 to +80.

Launa and her partner Kerry Mullen from Sherborbe fought off competition from players from Germany, Spain, France and England to pick up the silver medal, only losing to a Polish pair in the final in the +65 Ladies Doubles event.

Launa and Kerry are the current English National champions and they are also the Canadian & Danish champions.

Launa started her playing career with Somerset at the age of 13 and was part of the National squad as a junior and has won numerous Somerset county championships for the past 50 plus years.

She considers the peak of her career to have been crowned Masters World Ladies Doubles Champion of the over 60's in 2021 held in Huelva Spain. She defended her title in 2023 which was held in South Korea narrowly losing in the final.

Launa is passionate about her sport and knows the physical and social benefits it creates and would urge all children, parents and grandparents to pick up a racket and have a go!

Launa said: “One of the beauties of the game is when you miss the shuttle it falls to the ground and stays where it is; there is no chasing around after a ball!

“When played at the very top level the shuttle travels at speeds of 350 miles an hour, making badminton the world’s fastest racket sports.”

If you would like to know more about the sport of badminton in Somerset, then please go to: I play Badminton in Somerset / Facebook