Kirsty Gilmour believes she's in a good place after finishing as runner-up at the Malaysia Masters while Penny Coomes and Nick Buckland are gearing up for the European Figure Skating Championships. Here's our review of the last 24 hours.
Kirsty Gilmour admits it was a case of mixed emotions after the badminton star finished as runner-up in the Malaysia Masters in Penang.
Gilmour had a positive week in Malaysia, beating two higher-ranked opponents en route to the final, but Indian third seed P.V. Sindhu proved too strong in the showpiece itself, triumphing 21-15, 21-9.
World No.20 Gilmour overcame the likes of Thailand’s Busanan Ongbumrungphan and Japan’s Yui Hashimoto in earlier rounds – much to her delight – but was upset not to recreate those performances in the final.
“Of course I'm disappointed with the result in the final,” the 22-year-old told Badminton Scotland. “The shuttle felt so sensitive.
“I tried everything in my power to get it under control and find some rhythm – I managed it in some rallies but not consistently enough.
“But overall it's been a good tournament for me, I've learned a lot this week. I have a plan going forward to improve some key areas when we get home and back to training.”
Two-time Olympians Nicholas Buckland and Penny Coomes will be aiming to spring a surprise on their opponents when the European Figure Skating Championships get underway on Wednesday.
The duo were forced to miss last year’s edition due to illness and subsequently suffered the same fate at the 2016 World Championships when Coomes fell ill in America.
But they have been working hard in training in preparation for their first major outing of 2016.
Earlier this season the Brits claimed a silver medal at the Ondrej Nepela Trophy event in Slovakia while they have also placed fourth and fifth respectively at the Trophee Eric Bompard and NHK Trophy Grands Prix respectively.
And ahead of the start of the ice dance competition in Bratislava, Slovakia on Thursday, the pair – who’s best European Championship finish was third in 2014 – were in high spirits
“This season has so far been about us finding our feet again after illness caused us to miss out on the European and World Championships last season,” they said.
“We have made some big changes and have been working extremely hard to surprise everyone with our performances.”
Read more from Coomes and Buckland here
Great Britain short track speed skating performance director Stewart Laing believes his charges are heading in the right direction following a medal-laden European Championships in Sochi.
Ahead of March’s World Championships in Seoul, Great Britain laid down a serious marker of intent as they helped themselves to a number of podium finishes.
“British Short Track Speed Skaters clearly made their mark at the European Champs this weekend,” said Laing.
“This has been a really positive step for the whole team as we now set our sights on the next two European World Cups and the World Championships in Seoul.”
Read all about the European Champs success and Laing’s reaction here
Synchronised swimmers Katie Clark and Olivia Federici are set to make their first competitive appearance of 2016 at the German Open later this month.
Clark and Federici, who both represented Team GB at London 2012, will compete in the Duet events in Bonn from 29-31 January, taking on competition from 22 nations.
The duo will be performing the same routines they will use in March when they try to secure their spot at this summer’s Olympic Games at the Rio 2016 Test Event. Sportsbeat 2016