ROBERTSON READY FOR BADMINTON’S BIGGEST REUNION
Olympic hero is ready for sport’s long-awaited comeback
‘There will be a lot of relief and happiness when we return to action’
OLYMPIC Games silver medallist Nathan Robertson believes the return of indoor sport will be like a ‘big reunion’ for badminton lovers. The former Great Britain star, now a national team coach, admits he has had April 12 marked in his diary ever since prime minister Boris Johnson unveiled his roadmap out of lockdown in February.
While outdoor sports were allowed to return at the end of March, indoor activities such as badminton have had to wait an extra fortnight but for the 43-year-old Robertson, it will be worth it.
He told Metro: ‘That’s the big date for us. There will be an outpouring of relief for all these people who have not been able to play the sports they love for so long.
‘Also for people who have missed each other and not been able to have that social side. We are such a big participation sport – over one million people play badminton every week – and there will be lots of relief and happiness.
‘I got back to my cycling club last week and I hadn’t seen the guys for six or seven months. Now I think it will be like the biggest-ever reunion when badminton and indoor sports start up again.’
Robertson hopes the absence of sports like badminton will not have cut off the supply chain of talent to the national association’s training centre in Milton Keynes amid the coronavirus pandemic, which saw sport halted across the country at all but elite level.
He won an Olympic silver medal alongside Gail Emms in the mixed doubles at the 2004 Games in Athens and said: ‘It is tough. No doubt some really good talents will have had an incredibly tough year and missed a serious period of their career as junior players. The volume of action they will have missed is high.
‘But we believe we can make that time up. We needed to get back, we needed to do it, and now the country is in a better position with the virus. So hopefully 2021 will be a big year for sport and for badminton.’
Robertson (pictured) explained just why he felt compelled to return to the sport himself having hung up his racket in 2012.
‘It took a few years when I retired. I did some personal coaching and now I’m with the national team looking after six players,’ he added.
‘It’s definitely not as good as playing, though! There’s no getting used to that difference. But the environment is a brilliant one to work in and I feel that sport is in your blood.
‘For me, when all your closest friends and colleagues are from badminton, there is no real getting away from it.’
For Robertson, as of next Monday, there really will be no getting away from it – and likes many, many others involved in various sports up and down the country, he cannot wait to be back.