Gilmour comes so close to glory
Hamilton’s Kirsty Gilmour had to settle for second-best at the Yonex Canada Open after losing a close women’s singles final against Japan’s Saena Kawakami – but she didn’t have time to dwell on the defeat.
The Scotland star, who went down 19-21, 21-19, 21-18 in a 69-minute contest, then joined her team-mates to head for the Yonex US Open in Anaheim, in what will be her final event ahead of the BWF World Championships in Glasgow from August 21-27.
In Canada Gilmour took the first game thanks to a five-point burst when trailing 15-14, but Kawakami levelled the match despite Kirsty closing within a point at 20-19, after another five-point charge.
In the decider it was Kawakami’s turn to produce a fightback.
Trailing 13-11 she reeled off five points in a row to set up a winning platform. Gilmour said:“that was a mixed bag of emotions.
“On one hand I’m delighted to have found some form and momentum, but on the other hand I came so close to taking the title.
“Kawakami played really well and changed her tactics at just the right time.
“I also adjusted mine, but it came down to a few key points and she just had the edge.”
Gilmour had defeated Korea’s Joo I Jeon in the semi-final, Aya Ohori of Japan in the quarter-final, Rachel Honderlich and Korean Jang Mi Lee in the first round, reaching the final without dropping a game.
In Anaheim Kirsty started her campaign against Indian second seed Saina Nehwal yesterday (Wednesday) in the first round.
Motherwell’s Alex Dunn also has a tough opener in the men’s doubles as he and Adam Hall were drawn against Australian fifth seeds Matthew Chau and Sawan Serasinghe. In the mixed doubles, Dunn and Eleanor O’donnell meet American pair Mathew Fogarty and Isabel Zhong. Should they win that, they are likely to meet Malaysian top seeds Tan Kian Meng and Lai Pei Jing in the second round.