10 www.badmintonscotland.org.uk September 2011 OLYMPIC COUNTDOWN


For Susan Egelstaff, Imogen Bankier and Robert Blair the next eight months will be crucial in their quest to qualify for London 2012


By ELSPETH BURNSIDE


Three Scots living t L


ONDON 2012. It’s everyone dream, the ultimate goal. For three Scots, the next eight months will be a pressure pot of


hope, expectation and all that goes with a deep desire to be part of Team GB at he opening ceremony of the Olympic Games on July 27 next year. Susan Egelstaff is the best-placed of the


Scottish trio as she chases a berth in the women’s singles. Imogen Bankier and Robert Blair, who just missed out on the mixed doubles in Beijing 2008, are now playing with new English partners, and they also have a chance of selection. For 28-year-old Egelstaff, the Olympics would


be the peak of a great career. She has already won six Scottish singles titles, a Commonwealth Games medal and has made numerous European Team and Uber Cup appearances. The British badminton team will be named


nextMay and the leading women’s singles player will automatically get the nod. It will be a straight fight between Egelstaff and England’s Elizabeth Cann. And it is going to be a close tussle between


two experienced players who have been long-time rivals. Egelstaff beat Cann in the bronze medal play-off at the 2006 Commonwealth Games. Four years later in Delhi, the roles were reversed and Cann gained revenge.


As we get towards the tail end of this year, it


is neck and neck. Going into the Yonex BWF World Championships in London earlier this month, Egelstaff was ranked No.33 in the world and Cann was No.36. The week after the Championships it was Cann 31 and Egelstaff No. 35.


So it all adds up a nail-biting run of


tournaments with both players hoping that injuries or illness won’t interrupt the stress and strain of seeking the coveted points. Egelstaff is certainly not counting any


chickens. She just wants to train hard, play exceptionally well and keep focused. “It’s really weird,’ she said. “It is months away


until the Olympic selection and it will be ages before anyone knows if they are definitely going. I’m trying just to take one tournament at a time and do as well as I can. “The Olympics won’t really become relevant


until I’ve qualified. I know I’ve got a good chance, but it could also easily go the other way.” It is inevitable that Cann and Egelstaff will be


keeping a close eye on each other, but the Glaswegian is trying her best to do otherwise. As she says, she can only do her best and she’s heard it often enough from sports psychologists. You can only control what you do, not what someone else is doing on another court. “I am trying to ignore Liz and not keep


looking at the rankings, but of course it is hard,” Egelstaff truthfully conceded. “But I know I can’t afford to waste a lot of energy worrying about Liz. I would go mental if I kept checking out the rankings every day.” One of the big events for both players in


coming months will be the Scottish International Championships at the Kelvin Hall in November. Cann and Egelstaff are both former champions. “I love playing in front of a home crowd at the


Kelvin hall and it was terrific to win the women’s singles two years ago,” said Egelstaff. “But it is just one of many tournaments before nextMay.” Bankier first made her mark with her new


English partner, Chris Adcock, at last year’s Scottish International. Rank outsiders, they upset the odds and won the title. Since then, the pair have climbed to No. 16 in the world on the back of their superbWembley display. But it is going to be tough to make the


London team. England’s Nathan Robertson and JennyWallwork hold pole position at No. 11 in the world. To make the team Bankier and Adcock must either overtake them or make it into the top eight in the world. “But it wasn’t meant to be easy,” said Bankier.


“But we are constantly building towards the LondonOlympics and I know we can get there. Chris and I haven’t been playing together very long, but we clicked right away and it would be terrific to make the side in London.”


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32