SPORTS DIGEST: Lisburn's Michael Watt will be seeking his 12th title at the National Badminton Championships in Baldoyle this weekend, while his Ulster team-mate Erin Keery will be defending the women's title, writes Mary Hannigan.

Scott Evans, the 18-year-old from Dundrum who, a year ago, became a full-time player, is likely to be one of Watt's main challengers, having missed last year's championships through injury.

Chloe Magee, the highly rated 17-year-old from Donegal, should be a contender in the women's singles event, while she is also among the favourites in the doubles where she partners Karen Bing. Lisburn brothers Bruce and Mark Topping will be chasing their sixth doubles title.

The tournament gets under way tomorrow, with the semi-finals and finals on Sunday.

Madeline Perry has achieved a lifetime's ambition in the latest world squash rankings, breaking in to the top 10 for the first time in her career. The Banbridge player, who will be 29 next week, had edged ever closer to the breakthrough in 2005, reaching 11th in the November list, writes Mary Hannigan.

Perry's consistency in the final tournaments of the year, which included reaching the quarter-finals of the World Open in Hong Kong and the final of the Monte Carlo Classic, finally helped her accrue enough ranking points to break in to the top 10.

Having missed out on the chance to win her eighth national title in nine years, when a knee injury forced her out of December's Irish Championships, Perry was back in action last weekend, winning the Edinburgh Open. She is now in the US preparing for her first round match at the Apawamis Open in New York today, in a tournament that has attracted the world's leading players, including the top ranked Nicol David from Malaysia.

Perry will face England's Jenny Duncalf, ranked eighth in the world, in the opening round, a player she beat at the World Open in December.

The tournament marks the beginning of a busy spell in Perry's schedule, in which she will play a number of events in the US and Asia. She will also be competing in the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne next month.

WORLD SQUASH RANKINGS - Top 10: 1 Nicol David (Malaysia), 2 Vanessa Atkinson (Netherlands), 3 Rachael Grinham (Australia), 4 Natalie Grinham (Australia), 5 Vicky Botwright (England), 6 Linda Elriani (England), 7 Natalie Grainger (US), 8 Jenny Duncalf (England), 9 Tania Bailey (England), 10 Madeline Perry (Ireland).