Scottish Stars Battle Hard in Singapore

29th May 2025

It was a week of mixed fortunes for Scotland’s badminton contingent at the Singapore Open, as our athletes faced off against some of the world’s top talent.

In the women’s singles, Kirsty Gilmour came up against Thailand’s world number 10, Ratchanok Intanon. Despite a determined effort, Kirsty was unable to find her rhythm against the experienced Thai player, falling 8-21, 12-21.

In women’s doubles, Ciara Torrance and Julie MacPherson had a tough assignment against China’s dynamic duo Jia Yi Fan and Zhang Shu Xian. The Scottish pair fought valiantly but came up short against the talented Chinese pair going down 13-21, 13-21.

There was brighter news in the mixed doubles, where Alex Dunn and Julie MacPherson produced an impressive performance in their Round of 32 clash. Taking on Indonesia’s Rinov Rivaldy and Pitha Haningtyas Mentari, the Scottish duo showed their quality with a confident 21-16, 21-17 win over the world number 38 pair.

Their run continued into the Round of 16, where they faced the top-ranked European pair, Denmark’s Jesper Toft and Amalie Magelund. Despite showing strong moments, Alex and Julie were ultimately outgunned, losing 13-21, 14-21.

With the Singapore campaign wrapped up, the team now shifts focus to the KAPAL API Indonesia Open, one of only four prestigious HSBC BWF World Tour Super 1000 events. Action gets underway on 3rd June, so stay tuned for a full tournament preview and all the latest from Jakarta.