The Scots are ready for Basel
The draw has been made by BWF for the TOTAL BWF World Championships 2019, and the team of Scots heading to Basel is up for the challenge ahead. The tournament will begin in Switzerland on 19 August and will continue until 25 August 2019, with four representatives traveling from Scotland.
Gilmour aims for quarters
Kirsty Gilmour, the current star of Scottish singles, has revealed that she is focusing on the tournament as one to impress at and has set herself an ambitious goal of reaching the final eight.
“I have put in a lot of good performances recently, including recent Silver medals, so I am looking to build on that.
“At a World Championships; a quarterfinal is always in the back of my mind. I managed a quarterfinal in Glasgow, so that would be a realistic goal for me,” Gilmour said.
The European Games winner will face the Swiss No 1. player Sabrina Jaquet on home soil in Basel. A player who the Scot has met nine times, winning seven of the previous battles.
“I am very excited to play Sabrina (Jaquet). We had a very tough battle at the European Games in Minsk and I have learned a lot since then. I am looking forward to playing Sabrina in her home country.
“I will be going in with no complacency, treating it as if it’s a final, and focused, although aware that the crowd will be on her side,” she added.
*Please note that the information above was correct at the time of publishing, but since then the women’s singles draw has been re-done due to a mistake in the process. Kirsty Gilmour will now play against Sayaka Takahashi from Japan.
Men’s doubles looking to upset
Adam Hall and Alex Dunn will play in the men’s doubles category of the TOTAL BWF World Championships believing they have the potential to cause an upset.
The Scots face a pair that they have met once before but unfortunately lost to. Dunn, however, is confident going into the Worlds.
“I am looking forward to it. We have trained in Thailand and so have sparred with them and we have also played them in Spain.
“Considering how well we did last year at the World Champs, I am confident that we can cause an upset again in the first round,” Dunn said.
“It is going to be a hard game, but it could have been harder, so this is one that we can challenge for,” Hall commented.
“We have just come back from holiday, so it is just about building back up. Next week we will go to Milton Keynes to train with better opponents to prepare us better for our test,” Dunn added.
A performance-based goal for mixed doubles
Adam Hall and Julie MacPherson will face Japanese opposition in the first round of the TOTAL BWF World Championships, facing Wakana Nagahara/Takuro Hoki in Switzerland.
“We aim to play as well as we can, they are not seeded but Wakana (Nagahara) is the top seed in the women’s doubles, so they are very strong,” Julie MacPherson said.
“This is the first World Champs together, so it is going to be a good experience,” Hall said.
The pair believe that it is a test of their ability and have their own goals in mind, despite also wanting to win the match.
“We could have had a harder draw, so we can just give it a go, and hopefully give them a good game,” Hall added.
You can view all of the draws and coverage on BWF Tournament Software ahead of the event, as well as keeping up to date with the action.
*More information on how to watch the TOTAL BWF World Championships to be announced.