Team GB include Scottish player Kirsty Gilmour in Olympic badminton team for Tokyo

Kirsty Gilmour, from Bothwell, has been selected for the Tokyo Olympics in the Great Britain badminton squad.

Kirsty Gilmour of Team GB will compete in the Women's Singles event in Tokyo. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)

The 27-year-old Commonwealth silver and bronze medallist will compete in the Women’s Singles event – the only Brit to do so – at next month’s Olympics which begin on July 23.

Competing in her second consecutive Olympics, Gilmour is part of an seven-strong British team announced on Monday despite continued uncertainty over the event. Other sports and disciplines, including athletics, are expected to confirm their Team GB entrants later this week.

Team GB Chef de Mission for Tokyo, Mark England, said: “It is a great honour to be able to confirm such a strong team of athletes to represent Great Britain in badminton at the Tokyo Olympic Games. After badminton’s historic Rio 2016 campaign we welcome returning medallist Marcus [Ellis] back onto the team, alongside an exciting mix of athletes with Olympic experience and those making debuts; a group that will undoubtedly put on a gripping show out in Tokyo.”

Gilmour won Silver in Glasgow in the 2014 Commonwealth Games (above) and bronze four years later in Australia. (Picture: SNS)

The squad joining Gilmour, eliminated in the group stage of the 2016 Games in Rio de Janiero, is: Chloe Birch, Lauren Smith, Marcus Ellis, Toby Penty, Sean Vendy and Ben Lane.

The on-going coronavirus pandemic saw the 2020 Games postponed and question marks have continued throughout the gear over the staging of the event which will go ahead on July 23 until Sunday, August 8. The badminton event starts the day following the opening ceremony with finals scheduled between July 30 and August 2.

British badminton team leader Jon Austin added: “It has been a long journey to get to the point where we can announce both our Olympic and Paralympic teams. The players, coaches and support staff have worked tirelessly in the most extreme circumstances to reach a position where we can announce those selected.

“There has been so much uncertainty about whether both Games would go ahead, so to be in a position where we are shortly to get on the plane is something that I know all involved will be relieved but also relishing the opportunity to perform at the pinnacle of our sport for Team GB.”

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