TWO of Wiltshire long-serving badminton players have been honoured with the sport’s top awards.

Badminton England president Diana Troke was recently on hand to present John Earney and Graham Belbin with the ‘English Badminton Award’ for their long dedication to the sport at a local level.

Earney has been Wiltshire county secretary for the last 27 years and is also currently the county and Mid-Wilts district chairman.

The Chippenham 23 Badminton Club player is also a qualified umpire and line judge and is also a member of Heart of Wiltshire ‘Community Badminton Network’ that has made great strides in improving the sport in the Mid-Wilts district.

Belbin has been junior county co-ordinator and coach for 25 years, overseeing a generation of young players through their development years from playing for the county junior teams and into the senior teams.

He is also the Salisbury district chairman and organises many of the their teams and tournaments both at junior and senior level, that alongside his coaching and administrative commitments at Stonehenge Badminton Club.

In her closing speech, Troke congratulated both recipients on their dedication to the sport that locally runs on the goodwill and service of dedicated volunteers, at all levels, without whom the sport could not function.