Eight Scottish National wins in a row record for Bothwell badminton ace Kirsty Gilmour

Bothwell badminton star Kirsty Gilmour has won an incredible eighth consecutive Scottish National Championships women’s singles crown, writes Craig Goldthorp.
Kirsty Gilmour on her way to victory at Scottish NationalsKirsty Gilmour on her way to victory at Scottish Nationals
Kirsty Gilmour on her way to victory at Scottish Nationals

And Sunday’s 21-16, 21-10 final triumph over Holly Newall at the Yonex-sponsored event in Perth took Kirsty one step closer to Anne Robertson’s overall tally of nine titles, won between 1988 and 1998.

Twenty-five-year-old Bellshill-born ace Gilmour said: “I think it’s a new record of consecutive titles so I’m feeling pretty good.

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“It’s always difficult. People might think it’s easy for me to come here and win but it’s definitely not.

“All the girls want to beat me so it has been good to come here, get the job done and check off another national title.”

Gilmour, a two-time Commonwealth Games medallist, also tried the women’s doubles in Bell’s Sports Centre.

She and partner Basia Grodynskareached the semi-finals before losing to eventual winners Newall and Julie MacPherson.

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Double European women’s singles silver medallist Gilmour added: “In the doubles we had nothing to lose against Holly and Julie and we gave them a bit of a scare.

“It felt really good to be on the doubles court again and I enjoyed it but I’ll stick to singles being my main event!”

But there was men’s doubles joy in Perth for Motherwell’s Alex Dunn and partner Adam Hall, who retained their title with a 21-14 21-14 final win over twins Christopher and Matthew Grimley.

Alex said: “Right from the get go I think me and Adam showed our dominance.

“There were a couple of times when they got a run of points but we always managed to turn things round quickly to get back on track so really happy to retain the title.”