Sussex trio Sheila King, Ritchie Venner and Nigel Eckersley enjoyed spectacular victories at the Sussex Open Grand Prix at Crawley.

In a star-studded tournament with 250 players, Miss King used her counter-hitting strategy to record the best win of her long career when she defeated England squad player Louise Durrant (Nottingham) 11-9 in the fifth game before losing her next match.

Venner, the Sussex No 1, just failed in his bid to reach the men's singles quarter-finals, losing to the Welsh finalist Ryan Jenkins.

Eckersley, England No 6 veteran, reached the veteran's semi-finals where he lost to the Polish legend Andrzej Gubba. The Uckfield man also got to the final of the band one singles before losing to teenager Michael Marsden (Darlington).

The singles finals were won by Chinese players high in the world rankings. Chen Weixing (Austria) beat Jenkins in the men's final while Tong Feiming (Hampshire) defeated Helen Lower in the women's final.