Scotland’s Susan Hughes gave herself a huge boost before next month’s European Team Championships when she beat her long time rival and the British No.1 Liz Cann in the women’s singles final at the Yonex Dunfermline Championships at Cowdenbeath Leisure Centre. 

Cann, winner of the Bank of Scotland International in Glasgow in November,was the No. 1 seed, but Hughes scored a repeat of her win in the 2006 Commonwealth Games bronze medal play-off with an impressive 21-8 21-16 scoreline.  

Hughes will meet Cann again when Scotland face England in the European Championships in Liverpool in four weeks’ time, and the Glasgow player said: “It was a good hard game and I’m really pleased to have won today.

“It’s great that this tournament is now part of the GB programme. It has been a really worthwhile weekend and a good build-up to both next month’s National Championships and the Europeans. At the moment, I’m one place behind Liz in the world rankings (at No.28) but I should overtake her this week.”

In the men’s singles, England’s Carl Baxter justified his No.1 seeding, but only after a close 19-21 21-6 21-19 win in the final against Scottish Champion Craig Goddard, who had beaten Scotland’s teenage no. 2 seed Kieran Merrilees 21-18 21-16 in the semi-finals.

“Craig played really well and it was a tougher match than I expected,” said 23-year-old Canadian-born Baxter. “It has been a very well organised tournament and a good way to start the new year.”

Edinburgh’s Jillie Cooper, a three-time winner on the European circuit, was top seed in both the women’s and mixed doubles, but failed to collect a title after two narrow defeats against English opposition.

In the women’s doubles, Cooper and England’s Mariana Agathangelou, winners of the Bank of Scotland title, lost 21-14 17-21 19-21 to Sarah Bok and Heather Olver in the final, and she then lost 20-22 21-19 20-222 with Renfrew’s Watson Briggs in the semi-finals to the eventual winners of the mixed, Matthew Honey and Sarah Walker.

Results of finals:

Men’s singles: Carl Baxter (Eng) bt Craig Goddard (Sco) 19-21 21-6 21-19; men’s doubles: Marcus Ellis and Matthew Honey (Eng) bt Thomas Bethell and Wu Jun (Sco) 21-13 21-16; women’s singles: Susan Hughes (Sco) bt Liz Cann (Eng) 21-8 21-16; women’s doubles: Sarah Bok and Heather Olver (Eng) bt Jillie Cooper (Sco) and Mariana Agathangelou (Eng) 14-21 21-17 21-19; mixed doubles: Honey and Sarah Walker (Eng) bt Ellis and Samantha Ward (Eng) 21-17 21-15.