Imogen Bankier
Imogen Bankier
It still hasn’t really sunk in.
Winning a silver medal at the World Championships at Wembley
last weekend was an amazing feeling. It was my first major final
and my partner Chris Adcock and I now know what it feels like to
get that major championship final experience. Going into the
tournament we expected to do OK but we just took one match at a
time and couldn’t believe how far we progressed. Our goal was to
reach the quarter-final so we were over the moon standing on the
podium with silver medals round our necks.
I’ve played badminton since I was nine. Like most young people
do, I started playing in the back garden and then I used to play at
the local church hall with a good group of kids and I just fell in
love with the sport.
I’ve been home in Glasgow seeing friends and family after the
World Championships for a week but I’m back at the National
Performance Centre in Milton Keynes now and we’ve got some hard
work ahead of us. The qualification for London 2012 doesn’t close
until May next year. Our recent success in the World Championship
will definitely work in our favour but between now and May we will
be off around the world competing in tournaments and trying get our
ranking up.
If we make it to London 2012 we’ll definitely be looking to
medal. The badminton competition will be held at the Wembley Arena,
we’ve experienced a major final there so hopefully we can go one
better if we make it to the Olympics next year.
I think Glasgow 2014 will be massive. My partner is English so
it will be a shame not to be able to compete with him but it will
be an amazing experience all the same. I drove past the site of the
National Indoor Sports Arena where the badminton competition will
take place at Glasgow 2014 and it looks amazing, it’s inspiring to
think it will be filled with Scots hopefully cheering us towards
medal success in 2014.
Having a Commonwealth Games in Glasgow not only inspires us
athletes and gives us something to focus on but it will also bring
badminton to young people and inspire them to take up sport. For
me, London 2012 is a target at the moment but after the Olympics
the momentum will shift to Glasgow.
In 2014, the goal will be gold. To win a medal in front of a
home crowd would be unforgettable.
Photo: Sven Heise
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