Badminton ace Alex going for Games gold
Badminton star Alex Dunn has targeted Commonwealth gold – because he says there’s no point in going to Birmingham otherwise.
The 23-year-old from Motherwell says he has learned a lot since his Games debut experience on Australia’s Gold Coast 2018, and that he and partner Adam Hall from Mauchline know exactly what they’re up against at the National Exhibition Centre from July 29 to August 8.
Dunn, who has been out in Indonesia this month for the Masters and Open events in preparation for next month’s showpiece, is excited for the challenge and says they will do the best they can to come back with a medal.
“I think, like any athlete, we’re going to win it, to be honest,” he said.
“It’s going to be a tough order, but for myself and Adam to go there and not think about winning it is probably going to be an injustice to ourselves.
“We know we’re up against it, and I think we might be around the fourth seeding – I’m not 100 per cent sure on that – but I think that’s around it, so that should put us hopefully into a medal contention situation.
“But we’re looking to basically win it, do the best that we can, and see what happens when we’re there.”
Speaking during down- time in Indonesia, Dunn said he’s looking forward to the Games and to utilising what he has learned since Gold Coast.
He said: “We go i nto t he Commonwealth Games with a bit of form.
“The European Championships were very good for myself and Adam [they won silver] and the two tournaments in Indonesia were used as match practice against the world’s best.
“That’s what we need, going into the Commonwealth Games, because we’ll be playing against some of them.
“From the Games, I remember that there was quite a large gap in terms of standards – some are not so good, some are honestly the best in the world – so we really need to peak for a couple of matches to either win or get that medal.”
Dunn added: “Now that we’ve been selected it’s such an exciting event – Gold Coast was probably one of the best events of my life so far. It was so good, everything about it
“We’ re l ooking f orward to Birmingham, we’re probably hoping to do a bit better, results-wise, than the last time in Gold Coast, and I think that’s a really big push for the full team.
“In saying that, [Bothwell’s] Kirsty Gilmour has probably done something similar and now this is her fourth Games.
“It’s pretty good for Lanarkshire badminton, but also Scottish badminton, that we’re starting young and building up, so hopefully this team will have a few more in us.”