LAST YEAR’s triple crown winner Andre Padmore and No.1 women’s seed Tamisha Williams won tricky encounters against tough opponents when the Barbados Badminton Association’s Senior National Championships got under way at the Wildey Gymnasium on Monday night.
There was absolutely no room for error as Padmore, the defending men’s singles champion, won an intense battle against last year’s top ranked junior Sabeel Foster 21-19, 21-19.
It was no easy task as Foster showed no signs of nerves having stepped up to the senior ranks for the first time. He was the aggressor and dictated the tempo with his power game while unleashing cross-court smashes which caught Padmore out of position on numerous occasions.
But Padmore adjusted his game to take control and started to vary the pace while Foster’s shot selection became suspect as he was no longer able to execute the cross court shots which had brought him early success. (PR/EZS)
Please read the full story in today’s Midweek Nation, or in the eNATION edition.