SWINDON teenager Riya Tarar claimed a double triumph at the Wiltshire Senior Restricted Badminton Championships.

Tarar contested both the singles and mixed doubles at the competition in Salisbury, taking to the court alongside her coach Jon McDonald – a former top-20 player in England – in the pairs format.

The day started well for the team, with Tarar winning the women’s singles title, following several closely-fought matches, and McDonald landing the men’s doubles crown for the fourth year in a row.

With confidence high, the pair started in their first competitive tournament together in the mixed doubles.

The new partnership gelled instantly, complimenting each other’s games and beating some experienced senior pairings to get to the final.

In the trophy match, the pair had to play against two strong county first-team players – Salisbury duo Jason Plant and Stevie Boxall.

After a strong start, the new partnership stormed through the first set, with Tarar showing no sign of nerves in her first senior mixed final.

In the second set, the Salisbury pair roared into a convincing lead at the halfway point, but a change in tactics by Tarar and McDonald soon turned things around and they won the mixed title without dropping a set.

Tarar started playing badminton at the age of 10 with her dad. In 2016, she began to put in serious court hours with the help of coach McDonald.

Since then, Tarar has reached several remarkable milestones, from starting in bronze level U13s tournaments to now playing in the highest U17s and U19s domestic tournaments in the country.

She is currently at a career-high ranking of eighth in the country for her age group.