Isle of Man badminton player Kim Clague has been selected to represent England at the McCoig Trophy in Scotland next month.

The event is an annual match against Scotland at the Sir Craig Reedie Centre in Glasgow which celebrates the legacy of Robert McCoig, who is widely considered Scotland’s greatest ever badminton player.

McCoig represented his country 67 times until his retirement in 1976 and was later awarded an MBE for his services to Scottish badminton.

Following his death in 1998, the Robert McCoig Trophy was donated to Badminton Scotland by his family and the competition is now held every year for Masters players.

Clague, a multiple Island Games gold medalist for the Isle of Man, has been selected after she claimed an impressive gold medal in the over-35 women's doubles competition alongside partner Kelly Fairey at the 2024 English National Masters Championship in Hatfield, Hertfordshire recently.

The former Ballakermeen High School student - who has previously represented the Isle of Man at Commonwealth Games level - also secured a bronze medal in the mixed doubles category alongside Nikita Kolomnin, winning their group and progressing through to the semi-finals where they lost out to the eventual winners.

The 2025 edition of the McCoig Trophy will take place on Friday, January 17 at the Sir Craig Reedie Centre.

MEDAL JOY FOR MARTIN

Fellow Isle of Man badminton player Martin Cheung secured a medal at the Under-17 English National Championships over the weekend.

Competing in the open doubles category at Milton Keynes alongside Jeff Ani Joseph, Cheung embarked on a successful run all the way through to the semis where the pair narrowly missed out on a place in the final with defeat to Lawrence Chen and James Song, but they were rewarded with bronze medals for their efforts.