Scotland’s Susan Egelstaff admits it is a step into the unknown, but is looking forward to working with Scotland’s new Head Coach, Yvette Yun Luo. The Chinese woman takes up the post on January 4.

“I joined the Scottish set-up 11 years ago and Dan Travers has been my coach all along the way, so I will really miss him,” said the Glasgow 27-year-old. “But I’m definitely up for the new challenge.

“I don’t know Yvette at all, but she has a great track record working in Australia and England, including taking Tracey Hallam to Commonwealth Games gold in 2006 and the 2008 Olympics.”

Egelstaff claimed one of the biggest successes of her career last month when she won the Bank of Scotland Scottish International title at the Kelvin Hall in Glasgow – “it was great to do it for Dan” – but now she wants to aim even higher.

She will be gunning for a second Commonwealth Games medal – she took the bronze in Melbourne in 2006 – in New Delhi in October, while another huge goal is to make the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Meanwhile Glasgow’s Gordon Thomson has undergone a hernia operation and will be unable to defend the men’s singles at the Yonex Scottish National Championship in Perth in February, but he remains confident he can make next year’s Commonwealth Games. 

“I played in the Bank of Scotland International and then the Welsh and Irish Opens last month and was in a lot of pain,” he said. “Thanks to the Scottish Institute of Sport, I underwent the operation at Ross Hall Hospital last Monday.

“I’m going to be out for around two months and that means I’ll miss the Nationals, which is frustrating. But I didn’t want to jeopardise my Commonwealth Games chances and the main goal is to make sure I’m ready for Delhi in October.”

Thomson has been blighted by recent injuries. He was just recovering from a broken ankle when he was dropped by the GB programme earlier this year and had to move back home after a couple of seasons based at the National Centre at Milton Keynes.

But he is looking forward to working with Scotland’s new Head Coach, Yvette Yun Luo, who will take up the post based at Scotland’s National Centre at Scotstoun in Glasgow next month.

“I worked with Yvette a little bit at Milton Keynes and she is very knowledgeable and really enthusiastic,” said Thomson. “I was very disappointed when I was dropped from GB, but I’ve got over it and I’m impressed by the new regime in Scotland.