Commonwealth Games badminton: Gilmour into semis

Kirsty Gilmour and Imogen Bankier. Picture: PA

Less than an hour later and mixed doubles pair Robert Blair and Imogen Bankier had made it into the last four of the mixed doubles.

But Kieran Merrilees couldn’t complete a Scottish hat-trick. He lost to the English No. 3 seed, Rajiv Ouseph, in the quarter-finals of the men’s singles.

Gilmour, the No.2 seed, had a close match against New Zealand’s Michelle Chan in the team event. But she was always in control in a 21-9 21-10 victory.

Now she is just one win away from a medal. “If I’m the one of the four left not to get a medal then I’d be very disappointed,” said the Bothwell 20-year-old.

“I played a lot better today than in the team event. I think I was better prepared.”

Blair and Bankier easily won the first game against Canada’s Derrick Ng and Phyllis Chan but had to battle hard in the second before posting a 21-11 21-17 win.

In the second, the Canadians led 7-2 and then it was 15-all before the No.3 seeds pulled clear.

Now it is a mouth-watering semi against the English top seeds, Chris and Gabby Adcock. Bankier won a world championship silver medal with Adcock at Wembley in 2011 and they also played together in the 2012 Olympics.

Adcock now plays with his wife – and they lost to Blair and Bankier in their only meeting, at the German Open, earlier this year.

“We’re now at the stage of the tournament where we wanted to be,” said Bankier. “The semi promises to be a great match.”

Merrilees and Ouseph train together in the GB squad, and it was the higher-ranked Englishman who always held the upper hand in a 21-14 7-21 victory.

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