Kirsty Gilmour is just back from a family holiday in Crete. But it wasn’t two weeks of total relaxation. “I still did a lot of running,” she said. “I wanted to keep up my fitness so I’m ready for the new season.”

Such commitment is part of the reason why the Bothwell youngster, who will be 16 next month (September), is rated as one of Scotland’s brightest badminton prospects. She has already shown maturity beyond her years in her chosen sport.

Winner of the Bank of Scotland National Under-19 and Under-17 singles titles last season – she also won the under-19 doubles with Kirsten Geals, - Kirsty was the youngest player in the Scottish team at the European Junior Championships.

In the coming weeks, she will be one of the top seeds at a world-class junior tournament in Germany and is hopeful she can strike gold for Scotland at the UK Schools’ games in Cardiff in September. “I should be the top seed,” she said. 

A member of the Glasgow School of Sport, Kirsty attends Bellahouston Academy, and she is grateful that her studies and badminton are treated with equal importance. “I’m just going into fifth year and I’ll be doing three Highers – Maths, English and P.E.  – but I also get 12 hours a week for badminton training. It’s great to be able to train during school hours.

“Craig Robertson is the coach and it is a great set-up. There are quite a few badminton players and it works really well.”

For Kirsty, the input from her Uncle David is another key factor in her progress to the top.  A multi Scottish Champion, David Gilmour was another young protégé who turned into a world-class player, albeit that injuries arguably prevented him from reaching the very top.

“I have two sessions a week with Uncle David and that is very personal one-to-one coaching,” said Kirsty. “He is great and has been a fantastic inspiration. I love working with him and feel lucky to have him as my coach.”

It was her own father, Brian, who helped David in his junior days, while he also helped set Imogen Bankier and Watson Briggs – two of Scotland’s current top talents – on the road to stardom. Badminton is clearly in the Gilmour DNA.

Picking out the highlights from last year, Kirsty cites the Bank of Scotland titles plus a runner-up spot at the Belgian Junior Open. This season, she aims to make even more of an impact on the European junior circuit, and also to start to test her promise on the senior circuit.

Longer term, her big goal s the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. “The London 2012 Olympics might be a little too soon,” she reasoned. “But I’ll be 21 in five years’ time and I think it would be fantastic to be playing for Scotland at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

EB
© Copyright In The Winning Zone, MMIX, All Rights Reserved