Badminton: Susan Egelstaff comes close to upset

SUSAN EGELSTAFF did Scotland proud by fighting all the way before going out in three tense games to world champion Lan Lu in a magnificent second-round match in the women's singles at the Yonex All-England Super Series in Birmingham.

The Bank of Scotland International Champion had produced a great win over Japanese No.1 Sayako Sato to make the last 16, and she battled all the way against Lu, the No.6 seed from China, before losing 23-25, 22-20, 17-21 in a punishing 66-minute encounter.

"I'm really pleased with my performance, but also really disappointed because I had a chance to take a huge scalp," said the 27-year-old Scottish Champion from Glasgow.

In the first game, Egelstaff, ranked 32 in the world, had game points at 20-19 and 21-20 before losing it on her opponent's third game point 23-25. She then came from behind and saved a match point at 20-21 before tying the scores at one game a-piece.

In the decider, the Commonwealth Games bronze medallist took an early lead at 5-3 before Lu finally gained the upper hand and went on to claim the quarter-final place.

In the mixed doubles, Glasgow's Imogen Bankier and Edinburgh-born Robert Blair didn't even make it onto court. Blair's back problem, that forced him to retire in the final of the German Open last Sunday, ruled him out.