Hailed as one of Scotland's most promising youngsters when he won a European Junior Championship medal in Den Bosch more than two years ago, Calum Menzies paid a heavy price for that memorable week in the Netherlands.

"I had played a lot of matches and came away with a really sore left knee," he explained. "No one could find out what was really wrong with it, but it forced me to drop out of the sport."

Following the unwanted and lengthy period on the sidelines, the 21-year-old returned to reach the semi-finals of this year's West of Scotland Open - he lost to Scottish Champion Gordon Thomson - before really punching home the fact that he could be back as one of Scotland's finest players an impressive performance at the Bank of Scotland Centenary Championships in Glasgow last month.

Having endured two rounds of qualifying, Calum beat Peru's Rodrigo Pocheco in three tough games in the first round before going out to the former No.1 men's player on the European circuit, Petr Koukal, from the Czech Republic.

"I am one of those guys that gives 100% or nothing, and that's why I stopped playing after the injury," he continued. "But it just seems to have got better through rest.

"Now I'm ready to play in all the competitions and I would love to get noticed by the Scottish Institute of Sport and maybe get into the GB funded squad."

One of his big goals this season is the men's singles title at the Yonex Scottish National Championships in Perth next February. ""I'll be there," he confirmed. ""And I never enter anything to come second."

Originally from Peterhead, Calum moved to Falkirk as a teenager and recently finished a four year apprenticeship as a mechanical technician with the company, INEOS.

"It's good to have a qualification behind me," he observed. "You've got to be realistic. If you ever want to have a wife and a family then you can't rely on making money as a badminton player.

"But I'm going to use all my holidays to play in tournaments and we'll see what happens."

Calum has benefited from input from two of Scotland's best coaches. He worked with eight-time Scottish Champion Bruce Flockhart, and has now taken up with Andy Cooke, a former British coach of the year who has been in the sport for 30 years.

"At this stage, I realise I'm not really match sharp and I have to become quicker around the court," admitted the lanky 6'3" player. "But, at the moment, it is a case of building up some more experience and really getting ready for next year."

Cooke is optimistic that his young charge has a very bright future. "Calum is quite hard on himself, but he played very well at the Bank of Scotland Championships and is a very good worker. It should be interesting to see how he progresses over the next few years."

EB
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