Reigning national champion Andre Padmore continued his fine form in 2013 by taking top honours in both the singles and doubles divisions of the inaugural A & A Auto Parts & Shuttlers Badminton Club’s “DOMINANCE” Badminton Tournament.
When the tournament concluded on Friday night at the Wildey Gymnasium, Padmore also walked away with more than $1 200 in cash and prizes after defeating Dakiel Thorpe 21-12, 21-16 and teaming up with Kevin Wood to beat Nicholas Reifer and Greg Padmore 21-17, 21-16.
The singles final was a rematch of the men’s title match in the just concluded David King Memorial Inter-Club Tournament.
Unlike that time, Padmore controlled the tempo of the match from the start jumping out to an 11-2 lead at the first interval.
Despite trailing in the second, Thorpe became more aggressive with some superb jump smashes and well-placed drop shots to swing the momentum in his favour.
With an opportunity to lock the scores at 15, he abandoned the drop shot which had proved effective and gave away the attack by lifting the bird to back court and Padmore punished it with a smash before going on to claim the victory.
In the third place play-off, Damien Howell defeated Amanda Haywood 20-22, 22-20, 21-19.
Throughout the tournament, 13-year-old Haywood took full advantage of the mixed tournament rules where players were categorized by a designated rank, allowing for a standardized points advantage before the start of each game depending on the ranking of the player.
Howell had a great tournament and had to start at a 15-0 points disadvantage against Haywood but he proved he was indeed the more dominant player.
Before Padmore contested the doubles final with Wood, they defeated the national doubles champions, Thorpe and Pilgrim in a thrilling match which ended 25-23, 15-21, 24-22. (PR/SAT)
Results
Singles
Final: Andre Padmore defeated Dakiel Thorpe 21-12, 21-16
Third Place: Damien Howell def Amanda Haywood 20-22, 22-20, 21-19
Doubles:
Final: Andre Padmore/Kevin Wood def Nicholas Reifer/Greg Padmore 21-17, 21-16
Third place: Dakiel Thorpe/Bradley Pilgrim won by walkover
Semi-final: Andre Padmore/Kevin Wood def. Dakiel Thorpe/Bradley Pilgrim 25-23, 15-21, 24-22
Honour Roll
Player of the tournament: Andre Padmore
Parents’ Special Award: Beverley Harding and Rodney Foster
Lifetime Achievement Award: Kelvin Martin and Mervyn Gordon
Players’ Special Award: Amanda Haywood
