Tokyo Olympics 2020: Kirsty Gilmour knocked out of badminton at group stage

It was a case of deja-vu for Kirsty Gilmour who fell at the group stage of the badminton in frustrating fashion for the second Olympic Games running.
Kirsty Gilmour in action against Japan's Akane Yamaguchi. Picture: Lintao Zhang/Getty ImagesKirsty Gilmour in action against Japan's Akane Yamaguchi. Picture: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images
Kirsty Gilmour in action against Japan's Akane Yamaguchi. Picture: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images

Five years on from Rio, the 27-year-old from Bothwell again could not find a way through to the elimination round, falling to Japan’s fourth seed Akane Yamaguchi in her second group match.

It always looked like a big ask, with Yamaguchi having won bronze at the World Championships in 2018, and so it proved in a 21-9, 21-18 defeat.

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Gilmour said: “My intentions and my intensity and my focus is always the same. There’s the same effort going into it so to be rewarded with the points in the second game is good.

An aerial shot of Scottish badminton player Kirsty Gilmour, top, taking on Akane Yamaguchi of Japan during an Olympic group match at Musashino Forest Sport Plaza in Chofu, Tokyo. Picture: Lintao Zhang/Getty ImagesAn aerial shot of Scottish badminton player Kirsty Gilmour, top, taking on Akane Yamaguchi of Japan during an Olympic group match at Musashino Forest Sport Plaza in Chofu, Tokyo. Picture: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images
An aerial shot of Scottish badminton player Kirsty Gilmour, top, taking on Akane Yamaguchi of Japan during an Olympic group match at Musashino Forest Sport Plaza in Chofu, Tokyo. Picture: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images

“But I don’t think I played badly in the first game, she’s a very, very solid opponent and has built her career on that.

“It’s very difficult to get winning shots out of her and to force errors from here, I feel I managed that pretty well in the second game.”

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The defeat marks the end of the Games for Gilmour, who is not competing in the doubles here in Japan.

The fact she even made it at all is impressive, having been on crutches after suffering a foot injury in December.

She was able to recover from that and felt she came into the Games in the form of her life. But the challenge of taking down the number four seed proved too big.

And while her opening win over Mahoor Shahzad of Pakistan will be a positive to take away, Gilmour could only admire the quality of Yamaguchi.

She added: “Her retrieving, it’s what all the Japanese players are known for and I was ready for that. I think I coped pretty well but perhaps just out of match practice in the past few weeks.”

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