Winning gold may have been the dream but Kirsty Gilmour insists she is over the moon after claiming Scotland’s first European Championships silver medal.
The 22-year-old lost 21-12 21-18 at the hands of reigning champion Carolina Marin in France but her second-place finish was Scotland’s best ever result in the event.
Spaniard Marin took control of the first game after the players had been level on 4-4 at one point.
But Gilmour found her feet in the second, recovering from 5-1 down to lead 11-9 at the interval.
Marin fought back to take six successive points after the break to take a commanding lead.
Gilmour did claw the game back to 15-14 but the double world champion refused to let her title slip.
Despite being unable to claim gold, Gilmour insists the experience will be beneficial in the long run as she builds towards the Olympic Games in Rio later this summer.
“In the first set, I knew she would come out at a million miles an hour so I was just sizing up my shots and adjusting to the pace,” she told Badminton Scotland. “It took me a little bit too long to get to the pace of it.
“It’s very satisfying to win silver. It’s definitely one for the CV but it’s the second time it could have been gold at a major championship following the Commonwealth Games, but everything at this age is a learning curve.
“It’s building blocks but we’ll get there one day. At least I can wake up and say that I got a silver medal at the European Championships.
“I have a rest week now so I am going to put my feet up for a couple of days but badminton is never far from your mind, especially this year.
“It’s been a long year in one sense and a short one in another, and there’s still more to do and a few tournaments before Rio.”
Sportsbeat 2016