ELENA JOHNSON was a surprise finalist at the first national circuit badminton tournament of the season last weekend.

The Sarnian star travelled to Sevenoaks School to play in the Kent Open and in the women’s doubles with regular partner Kate Lester from Hertfordshire, they defied their unseeded status.

‘We had a very straight forward win in the first round and again progressed through the second round with little difficulty,’ Johnson (pictured) said.

‘When we reached the semi-finals we knew that we would be tested.’

In the semis, Johnson and Lester were up against the number two seeds Gemma Whiting (Kent) and Kelly Holdway (Hampshire).

‘Having failed to defeat the pairing in the past we knew that the pressure was on them,’ said Johnson.

‘The whole first game we were point for point and there was nothing to separate us. Eventually we held our nerve and edged them out 28-26.

‘The second game was fairly similar, although after leading 20-17, they managed to crawl back to 20-20. Again we kept our focus and clinched the match by taking the second game 22-20 to progress to the final.’

The other semi-final also saw something of an upset as the top seeds were knocked out by top England junior pairing Hayley Rogers (Cheshire) and Helena Lewczinska (Hertfordshire).

The final turned out to be a see-saw battle.

‘After losing the first game, Kate and I managed keep the attack more in the second game to bring the match to 1-1,’ Johnson said. ‘At the end of a long day the result of the match reflected the outstanding fitness levels of the younger pair. They took the title with a 21-15 win in the third game.’