Northland's top two senior badminton teams put on valiant display

Sunil Dahiya gets airborne under the careful eye of the umpire as he competes for Northland's top senior team against North Harbour and Auckland on Saturday. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Northland's top two senior badminton teams put up a strong fight on Saturday as Northland 1 battled North Harbour and Auckland in Northland, while Northland 2 took on Bay of Plenty and Waitakere in Waitakere.

The efforts from Northland 1 didn't come through in the results, losing seven games to four against North Harbour and going down 8-3 to Auckland.

Northland 2 had a mixed bag, losing 8-3 first up to Bay of Plenty only to come back and beat Waitakere on home court, 8-3.

Northern Advocate photographer Michael Cunningham caught all the action from Northland 1 on Saturday, while fellow photographer Tania Whyte saw Northland 2 during their ties against two North Harbour teams in June.

Northland's Cath Brennan lunges forward to catch the shuttle before it hits the deck. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Jonathan Nagulesan reaches back for an overhead smash against North Harbour earlier this month. Photo / Tania Whyte

Northland 2's singles specialist Reece Gunson has his eye on the shuttle as he goes for a serve against North Harbour. Photo / Tania Whyte

Northland's Michelle Fogden shows off her reach and agility to return a shuttle heading deep in the court's right-hand corner. Photo / Tania Whyte