Gilmour: Grit and Grace on the Road to Paris 2024
Kirsty Gilmour, the tenacious Scot hailing from Bellshill, is gearing up for her third Olympic Games at Paris 2024. Gilmour, 30, has weathered injuries and setbacks, displaying remarkable resilience on her journey to…
· DIANNE PIERRE
Kirsty Gilmour, the tenacious Scot hailing from Bellshill, is gearing up for her third Olympic Games at Paris 2024. Gilmour, 30, has weathered injuries and setbacks, displaying remarkable resilience on her journey to securing a coveted spot in the upper echelons of world badminton.
Gilmour's Olympic odyssey encountered a difficult chapter at the Rio 2016 Games, where she battled through a knee injury, making it a challenging Olympic campaign. She didn’t make it out of the group stage but acknowledged that she has emerged stronger from such hardships.
The road to Tokyo 2020 was not without its hurdles, as Gilmour grappled with injuries during the build-up. In the round-robin crucible in Tokyo, she won one but lost one match (to Akane Yamaguchi), thereby falling short of advancing beyond the group stage. Without a title since the SaarLouLux Open 2020 , the Scot is currently ranked No.25, but she will look to improve her position and guarantee herself of a qualifying spot for Paris 2024.