Tournament Review – VICTOR China Open

27th July 2026 by Robert McLean

It was a challenging week for Scotland’s top badminton stars at the VICTOR China Open in Changzhou, China. As an HSBC BWF World Tour Super 1000 event, the tournament features only the world’s very best players, providing another valuable opportunity for the Scottish squad to test themselves against the sport’s elite.

Matt and Chris Grimley were the first Scots in action, taking on home favourites and world number nine pairing Chen Boyang and Liu Yi of China. The Chinese duo produced a dominant display, claiming the match 21-6, 21-14.

Next on court were Alex Dunn and Julie MacPherson, who faced Indonesia’s world number 14 pair, Dejan Ferdinansyah Kusharjanto and Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja. In what was arguably one of the matches of the opening round, the Scottish duo pushed their higher-ranked opponents all the way before narrowly losing 20-22, 25-23, 14-21. Despite the defeat, the performance further highlighted their ability to compete with the world’s leading mixed doubles pairs.

Wednesday saw Kirsty Gilmour take on one of the toughest draws possible, facing world number two and home favourite Wang Zhiyi of China. Gilmour produced an impressive performance and pushed her world-class opponent over three games before eventually falling 21-15, 5-21, 18-21, demonstrating both her resilience and her ability to challenge the very best on the international stage.

The Scottish team now turns its attention to the BWF World Championships in India, which get underway on 17 August. With another opportunity to compete against the world’s best players, the squad will be looking to build on the positives from Changzhou and continue their preparations for the biggest event of the season.