Padmore won the men's title 21-17, 23-21 in a nail-biting final against Curwin Cherubin which produced a high level of badminton. Unfortunately for Cherubin, he was defeated by Padmore's signature cross-court smash.

Before this, Padmore defeated junior champion Bradley Pilgrim 21-8, 21-10 in the first round of the men's singles and moved into the quarter-finals where he defeated Kelvin Mallet Sr 21-8, 21-13.

In the first semi-finals, Padmore played Dakeil Thorpe in a very fast-paced game where he won 21-17, 21-15. Thorpe had defeated Richard Gittens 21-10, 21-17 to reach the semis.

The other semi-finals, which lasted approximately 45 minutes, was a hard-fought game with Cherubin defeating Kevin Wood
15-21, 21-15, 21-12.

The women's final was just as exciting as the men's singles with Watson taking the title with a thrilling 21-18, 15-21, 23-21 victory over Mariama Eastmond.

Both players pressured each other's weaknesses with Eastmond going up 18-14 but due to unforced errors, Watson stormed back to win the first set.

But Eastmond composed herself in the second set and won 21-15, setting up a deciding last set, in which Watson edged Eastmond 23-21.

Earlier, Watson, after a first round bye, whipped under-15 champion Monyata Riviera 21-6, 21-2. Riviera had defeated Akila Knight 21-10, 21-7 in the first round.

In another quarter-final match, Mikeila Carrington triumphed over athletics coach Wendy Barrow-Smith 21-16, 21-12 but lost to Watson 6-21, 10-21 in the semi-finals. In the other semi-final, Eastmond outplayed Sabrina Scott 21-16, 21-12.

A second ranking tournament for both men and women will be held on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at the same venue. These tournaments will be held regularly to gauge the players' performances over the year. (EZS/PR)