Kirsty Gilmour wins opening Olympics match for Team GB
Kirsty Gilmour played her first match of the 2024 Paris Olympics this morning against Azerbaijan’s Keisha Fatimah Azzahra, winning confidently in straight sets.
Gilmour opened the first set with a confident consecutive two points. The Scottish number one had never before played the young 20 year old Azerbaijan player, who makes her Olympic debut this games. Azzahra had lost to China’s He Bing Jiao on Sunday meaning this game was all to play for.
The opening few points showed them both understanding each others styles of play. After her fourth point Gilmour began to pull away in the first set taking a five point lead. Azzahra was able to play a few shots out of Gilmour’s reach taking her to just a two point lead at 8-6.
Gilmour finished off before the break with a decisive smash to the back corner showing why she was the strong favourite in this game. With this being Azzahra’s Olympic debut many of the points she dropped were as a result of the intense pressure Gilmour applied, pushing her to send shuttles out of bounds. At the break the score stood at 11-6 with Gilmour retaining a similar point difference throughout, before widening to an eight point lead as the first set neared the end at 18-10. Azzahra was not done yet, sending a shot that forced Gilmour to dive across court.
The match point of the first set was delivered at 20-13 after a lengthy rally as Gilmour appeared to be waiting for the perfect moment to win the game, not wanting to risk anything in her opening set. The final score of the first set was 21-13.
Kirsty opened the second game but it was Azzahra who took the first point, her shot just out of Gilmour’s reach. The competitors went point for point for the first four, with Gilmour’s fifth point being won from a strong but quick rally, skimming the net forcing her opponent to panic and hit the net. Beginning to settle from this the GB athlete stretched to a three point lead and continued the attack, even winning a rare point with an overhead smash. The game continued within a few points but when Azzahra came close to the three time Olympian, she reset the tempo and pace to suit her.
At no point did Gilmour appear truly threatened or out of control as the break of the second game drew closer. An out of bounds serve from Azzahra took Gilmour to 10-7. Gilmour then unsuccessfully challenged the next point, taking the decision gracefully before immediately winning her 11th point of the set to take her to the break in a stronger position than her first game by two points.
After the break and a chat with coach Ingo Kindervater she appeared to have some added momentum, playing her own game but increasing both intensity and accuracy. Her ability to perfectly place the shuttle across the court to created awkward positions for her opponent to return forcing her shots out of bounds.
The later stage in the second game was where Gilmour’s international experience shone as she stretched Azzahra across the court giving herself more time to anticipate returns. She pulled away in a lengthy error free run to 09-18, her widest margin across the whole match.
The final moments of the match drew near and Gilmour finished with strong momentum, sending Azzahra around the court before timing a lethal drop shot. The final two points were won in quick succession finishing 21-11, besting her first game.
The last half of Gilmour’s second game looked incredibly promising for her big match tomorrow evening as she got better with every added point. Tomorrow she plays China’s He Bing Jiao, a must win if she is to make it out of the group stages for the first time in an Olympic Games.
Credit: Badminton Photo
| Mikael Ropars |