In-form Gilmour gears up for more challenges
Kirsty Gilmour says a silver medal at the European Championships in Madrid shows she’s going in the right direction, as she prepares for the Commonwealth Games.
Though the Bothwell badminton ace hasn’t yet been selected for Birmingham 2022 this summer, Gilmour reckons she may receive a confirmation email shortly.
Gilmour finished second to Spain’s
Carolina Marin at the European Championships, and is now preparing for the Indonesia Masters from June 7 to 12, and the Open, which runs from June 14 to 19.
That means she can travel to Jakarta for both competitions, which is as ‘home’ as a competition like that is likely to be.
She said: “I think my performances have been pretty good and I think I’m heading in the right direction with everything I’m doing in training.
“It’s nice to be able to see direct applications from training to tournaments; it reinforces that I’m doing something right, and I’ve got a really good coaching team around me.
“It will be nice to settle in to Jakarta again. I’ve been probably eight or nine times, so it’s one of those where I will feel pretty much at home.”
On her hopes of competing at her third Commonwealth Games, following a silver medal at Glasgow 2014 and a bronze during the Gold Coast 2018, Gilmour said: “The Commonwealth Games are fast approaching. I feel good about it, although I’m not officially selected yet!
“I’m hoping that sweet email will come in over the next couple of weeks, and I’m excited.
“I think Birmingham are going to put on a good show, despite them being last-minute step-ups to host.
“I think they’re going to put on a good show for all-england, they’re already busy rehearsing, and they’re going to absolutely go for it.
“It’s going to be a really good time, I’m excited.”