Somersfield Academy enjoyed a spectacular day on home soil, sweeping three of the four gold medals on offer at the 2026 Bermuda School Sports Federation’s Middle School Girls Badminton Championships.
The undisputed star of the tournament was Somersfield’s Emmalyn Tothong, who produced a masterclass in badminton to secure a magnificent golden double in the under 13 division. Tothong kickstarted her golden run in the under 13 singles final, where she faced off against teammate Hanako Kitade. Showing ruthless precision, Tothong controlled the court from start to finish to cruise to a straight-sets 15-2, 15-5 victory.
Tothong was back on court shortly after for the under 13 doubles tournament, this time partnering with Jeanne Prabis. The formidable duo proved far too strong for the Warwick Academy pairing of Ava Swart and Madeliene McBain, wrapping up the gold medal with a convincing 15-5 win. To cap off a dominant age group for the hosts, the Somersfield pair of Hanako Kitade and Sophie Ferrar battled their way onto the podium to claim the bronze medal.
The dominance of the host school spilled over into the over 13 girls singles division, which culminated in an all-Somersfield Academy final. Kate Purcell showcased her title credentials with a powerful performance against Aniah Tucker, claiming the over 13 crown with a 15-5, 15-7 triumph.
Warwick Academy managed to disrupt the hosts' clean sweep, starting with a grueling third-place playoff in the singles. Devi Samuels had to dig incredibly deep in a tense, three-set thriller against her own doubles partner, Annabelle Shah. After taking the first set 15-12, Samuels dropped a nail-biting second set 14-16, but recovered her composure beautifully in the decider to storm to a 15-7 victory and secure the bronze.
That hard-fought singles battle clearly galvanized the Warwick Academy duo, as Samuels and Shah put their individual rivalry aside to team up for the over 13 doubles tournament. The pair produced their best badminton of the day in the final, upsetting Somersfield's Anya-Aeleishe Pearman and Aniah Tucker with a clinical 15-9 victory to take a well-deserved gold medal back to Warwick.
Somersfield still managed to make their presence felt on the podium in the final event, as individual champion Kate Purcell teamed up with Della Masters to claim third place with a swift 15-3 demolition of the Saltus Grammar School pairing of Lauren Simons and Sophie Lacasse.
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