KIRSTY Gilmour proved she was back to her best yesterday as she won her sixth consecutive women’s singles title at the Yonex Scottish National Championships in Perth.
The 23-year-old top seed from Bothwell repeated last year’s final victory over Julie MacPherson, taking just 28 minutes to triumph 21-11, 21-7.
Badmintonscotland’s new head coach, Malaysian Tat Meng Wong, attended all three days of the nationals. She will have been impressed with what she saw of European and Commonwealth Games silver medallist Gilmour, as she disposed of 2015 runner-up Holly Newall in the semi-final 21-8, 21-15 before conquering MacPherson.
This competition was Gilmour’s first tournament since undergoing knee surgery at the end of the Olympics and the 23-year-old is confident that she is back to full fitness.
“I wouldn’t have played the nationals if I wasn’t 100 per cent ready,” said Gilmour. “It’s not just a starter tournament for me. It’s one I want to keep on winning.
“It was really important for me to be fit for this one and I’m really glad that 17 weeks after my operation I am flying around the court as usual.”
Gilmour was back in the thick of things just two hours later, partnering Patrick MacHugh to claim the mixed doubles title. The pair secured a 23-21, 21-16 over Martin Campbell and MacPherson.
That success meant that Gilmour has become the first player since Rita Yuan Gao 15 years ago to hold national titles in three different events.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here