Gordon Thomson claimed the Scottish men's badminton crown for the first time yesterday and then dedicated the win to his late father, Alan.

The flame-haired 21-year-old from Glasgow defeated Stuart Gilliland 21-12, 21-16 in the men's final of the Yonex-sponsored national championships at the Bell's Sports Centre in Perth and immediately pointed skyward then flung his racket in joy towards his tearful mother, Maura, and younger brother Alastair.

"The last thing my father said before he passed away was that he wanted me to win this. It means a huge amount," said Thomson.

"He was my coach, he was my everything and I am dedicating this to him. It would have meant a lot to him and I know he's still watching."

Thomson had never before lost to 19-year-old Gilliland, nephew of Billy Gilliland who won Commonwealth Games pairs gold for Scotland with Dan Travers, currently the national coach, in the 1986 Games in Edinburgh.

Gilliland, however, had defeated top seed and holder Craig Goddard in the semi-finals, so Thomson, twice a losing finalist, was wary.

"I was confident, but I knew he was playing well because he had taken Craig out," said Thomson. "He's difficult to play against because he gets a lot of difficult shots back and you have to be patient.

"I had to make sure I was focused, ready to go and not do anything daft. I also had to keep my emotions in check."

Long, exciting rallies were a feature of a highly entertaining final between two players who spar regularly.

Thomson, a part-time coach at Bellahouston Academy, is not a member of the Scottish Institute of Sport and is currently funding his own ventures in Europe, the next of which is to play in the Austrian Open in a fortnight.

"I'm happy being in control of my own destiny, but if the institute came and asked me it would be hard to say no. I'm still working hard with Craig and Stuart, trying to get better for Scotland."

There was a blow, however, for Glasgow's Susan Hughes, an institute member who has dedicated herself to making the grade for next year's Beijing Olympics.

The 24-year-old, currently world No.25 and aiming to make the top 16, failed in her bid to make it three Scottish titles in a row when she was comprehensively outplayed by China-born Rita Gao, who won her fourth Scottish title by the surprisingly lop-sided margin of 21-17, 21-9.

Gao, also a coach at Bellahouston Academy and a professional club player in the German Bundesliga, gave up international badminton last year for events outside of Scotland at least, but was clearly the more match-fit.

Hughes and Gao then teamed up for the first time in the doubles and defeated favourites, Emma Mason and Imogen Bankier 21-16, 17-21, 21-12. Mason, 20, and Bankier, 19, are institute members and reached the world No.30 last year in topping the European Badminton Union circuit with victories in Iceland and Norway.

However, after levelling at one set each they ran out of steam against their more experienced opponents, even if singles specialist Hughes rarely ventures into the team environment of doubles.

Gao has twice previously, in 2002 and 2004, won the treble of singles, doubles and mixed doubles, but she was denied this time when Bankier gained revenge as she teamed up with Watson Briggs to beat her and Craig Robertson 21-15, 21-19.

Briggs, 19, also won the men's doubles with Andrew Bowman, 22, heralding a new era as they defeated veterans David Gilmour, 35, and Robertson, 36, by 21-14, 21-18.