Ouseph dominates with fifth consecutive English singles title as rival wilts

The 25-year-old Londoner saw off his friend and rival for a fourth consecutive year to retain his crown with a 21-18 21-14 victory at the Bolton Arena.

Ouseph, the world No 24, started strongly and overcame a slight wobble towards the end of the first game to win in convincing fashion.

Ouseph said: “It is special because it is the fifth one in a row and I don’t think anyone has done that before.

“It is a nice feeling but it was a tough game.

“Carl came back strongly towards the end of the first game and I needed to make sure I won it.”

Ouseph, who is on course to claim a Great Britain place at London 2012, admitted he had to guard against complacency given his familiarity with Canadian-born Baxter.

He said: “It is difficult because we train together every day and we have had the same match for four years in a row.

“It has been tough but I feel like if I play well I can win. We’re actually really good friends and it is difficult playing in matches.

“But being as good as I am is half down to him as we push each other in training.”

Ouseph’s success came after Chris Adcock and Andy Ellis saw off defending champion Chris Langridge and his new partner Peter Mills in the men’s doubles final.

Adcock and Ellis, ranked 25 in the world, survived a game point in the first to triumph 24-22 21-12.

Jenny Wallwork and Gabby White won a third successive women’s doubles title by producing a powerful finish to see off top seeds Mariana Agathangelou and Heather Olver 21-16 18-21 21-16.

Despite the result, Agathangelou and Olver – 26 in the world as opposed to White and Wallwork at 36 – remain the most likely British pair to qualify for the Olympics.

Olver said: “It would have been great to win a national title but at the end of the day this isn’t going to help us qualify for London 2012.

“So now we go back and play in tournaments to try to close the gap and get that Olympic spot.”