RACHAEL Darragh leaves the 2020 Portuguese Open with silver and bronze medals.
The Raphoe woman and her playing partner, Sara Boyle, endured a gut-wrenching defeat in the women’s doubles final.
Scotland’s Lauren Middleton and Holly Newall took victory in a gripping finale 20-22 23-25.
Darragh and Boyle pushed them every inch of the way and, with a little luck, could have forced a third game.
It was a busy week for Darragh who claimed a bronze in the women’s singles as well as the women’s doubles bronze.
In the first game of today’s doubles decider, the pairs were level several times with the Scots holding sway 12-10 at the interval.
The Irish duo were in determined mood, but Middleton and Newall twice opened up a four-point lead, but Darragh and Boyle hit back to draw level at 16 apiece.
Darragh and Boyle came from behind to get level four times from then until the end of the first game, but Middleton and Newall drew the tentative first blood, 22-20.
Darragh and Boyle had beaten Scotland’s Eleanor O’Donnell and Sarah Sidebottom 21-19 21-13 in Saturday evening’s semi-final.
In the earlier rounds, Darragh and Boyle overcame Catarina Cristina and Catarina M Martins (Portugal) and Poland’s Dominika Kwasnik and Magdalena Swierczynska.
Middeton and Newall overcame Rachel Andrew and Rachel Sugden, also from Scotland, 22-20 21-12 in their semi-final.
Darragh and Boyle fell 4-0 in arrears in the second game and by the interval the advantage was widened to 11-5. However, the Irish players got the bit between their teeth and hit back only to have their pockets picked right at the death.
Darragh won a bronze in the women’s singles, losing out in the quarter-finals to the number one seed Sabrina Jacquet from Switzerland 21-15 21-14.
On the way to the last eight, she Sofia Setim from Portugal, Switzerland’s Indira Dickhaeuser and Poland’s Wiktoria Dabczynska, the third seed, along the way.
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