Scottish runs end at the 2021 BWF World Championships in Spain

Scotland’s involvement in the 2021 BWF World Championships concluded on Thursday but there were plenty of encouraging performances in Huelva.

Kirsty Gilmour got her tournament off to a flyer in the women’s singles, defeating Aya Ohori and 15th seed Yeo Jia Min to set up a third round clash with top seed Tai Tzu Ying which turned into a thriller.

Gilmour threw everything at Tai, currently ranked the best women’s singles player on the planet, and took the second game 21-19 to level matters.

But the world number 21 was beaten 21-11 in the decider to bring her participation to a close.

The in-form Grimley twins also exited on Thursday as Japanese fifth seeds Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi proved too strong, winning 21-14, 21-15.

However, the Glaswegian brothers can still be proud of their week, getting to the third round after an excellent victory over Czech pair Jaromir Janacek and Tomas Svejda before a walkover sent them into the last 16.

The experience rounds off a positive end to the season for the pair, fresh from winning the Scottish Open in front of a home crowd last month.

Also in the men’s doubles draw were Adam Hall and Alex Dunn, who progressed to the second round after a walkover in the opener.

They faced the difficult task of the 14th seeds from Malaysia, Sze Fei Goh and Nur Izzuddin.
After losing the opening game, the Scots fought back bravely in the second, when three straight points turned the game on its head.

But they couldn’t quite match the Malaysians in the decider, going out 21-14, 19-21, 21-16.

Hall also teamed up with Julie MacPherson in the mixed doubles draw.

They managed to get past Taiwanese duo Lee Jhe-heui and Hsu Ya Ching in the opening round, 21-19, 21-16.

The second round provided a much tougher challenge against Tang Chun Man and Tse Ying Suet.
Seeded fifth, the Hong Kong pair eventually took the win, 21-10, 21-15.

Christopher Grimley and Eleanor O’Donnell were also in mixed doubles action, losing 21-15, 21-17 to Australian’s Oliver Leydon-Davis and Anona Pak.

Over in the women’s doubles Macpherson partnered Ciara Torrance.

They exited at the first round on Monday, after suffering a battling 21-15, 20-22, 21-12, defeat to Hong Kong’s Tsz Yau Ng and Sin Ying Yuen.

Although Scottish interest may be over for another year, the whole team can be proud of their performances and improving upon results from the 2019 edition.

The finals in south-west Spain take place on Sunday, while the next World Championships will be held in Tokyo in the last week of August 2022.

Follow the rest of the tournament on BT Sport and stay up to date on Tournament Software.

Photo credit: BadmintonPhoto