Nathan Robertson and Gail Emms hope to relive the most
memorable match of their lives this week. It seem like fantasy to
suppose that a world final played not far from the Castilian
grandeur of old Madrid could be repeated near Manchester’s
metallically modern B of the Bang - but the odds are that it will.
That’s because Robertson and Emms are seeded to win their fifth
English national title over the next three days, and only someone
making choices with a bent pin would bet against Anthony Clark
and Donna Kellogg, the runners-up at the Palacio de Deportes,
becoming their opponents again in Eastlands’ undulating Velodrome.
 “It
will be a pretty big upset if it doesn’t happen,” said Robertson.
“Yes, Anthony and Donna are world class now,” agreed Emms. “They
were before, but they needed that result (the world silver medal) to
prove to themselves they are a world class pair.
“It’s weird: the English nationals having a world championship
final,” she said, and then, perhaps thinking it would be almost as
weird if they didn’t, added a cautionary rider: “But there are a few
very strong pairs biting at our toes. We have to be on our game.”
Robertson and Emms have differing views as to whether or not they
actually have been on their game. They reached the final in Kuala
Lumpur and the semis in Seoul in the last fortnight, losing both in
three games, to Zheng Bo and Gao Ling, the Olympic and All-England
champions from China, and then to Thomas Laybourn and Kamilla Rytter
Juhl, the 2005 All-England finalists from Denmark.
“A bit rusty, not a hundred percent,” reckoned Robertson, but Emms
had a cheerier opinion about it. “We were the best pair there,” she
insisted. “The reason we didn’t win was only lack of concentration.”
They know they can’t afford that against Clark, one the world’s most
improved players, or Kellogg, who is very adept at squeezing out
success in important matches.
There is a slight worry about Robertson’s elbow, which may require
an operation, and about jet lag after returning only on Sunday night
from an eight-hour time difference. “It gets harder every year when
you get old and tired,” laughed Emms, who usually remains remarkably
vital and fresh despite the formidable schedule of practice and PR
which the pair are required to do.
But among the toe-biters should definitely be included David
Lindley and Suzanne Rayappan, who scored a sensational win in
Korea against Nova Widianto and Lilyana Natsir, the world’s top
ranked pair, and who are seeded to meet Kellogg and Clark in the
semis; and also Robert Blair and Jenny Wallwork, a dangerous
blend of experience and youth which should confront Robertson and
Emms at the same stage.
But the world champions have strong reasons not to countenance
defeat. They have never lost to an English pair, and it would be bad
timing to lose that particular ego-boost right now.
It is only a month until Robertson and Emms try to win back the
All-England title and immediately afterwards comes the start of
the Olympic qualifying period. They want to be building to their
formidable peak. Or, just as likely, to new heights.
Kidd aims to harness anger again
Nick Kidd has been trying to reach new heights ever since
winning the men’s singles title last year. Though he is disappointed
not to have made a breakthrough, he has other more powerful emotions
working in his favour. One of them is anger.
Kidd is annoyed that the seedings have placed him at number two,
behind Rajiv Ouseph, the steadily improving European junior
champion, and he is peeved that Andrew Smith, the number one,
has chosen not to play.
 “I
was angry last year and it worked for me, if you remember,” said
Kidd, whose capture of the national title was a dig at the selectors
who had omitted him from the Commonwealth Games squad.
This time he has two beefs to fuel his motivation. “I lost to Raj in
one elite tournament, but prior to that I never lost a game to him –
I’m angry,” he said, though he admits that Ouseph gained more points
on the domestic elite circuit. “They (the seedings) have done me a
favour because I work better when I’m angry.”
As for Smith, who is training in Malaysia, where he is based, Kidd
says: “Why would you not play the nationals? I think he should face
us fairly.”
But Smith, ranked 16 in the world and rising, has his eyes on the
top ten, something which Ian Wright, England’s head coach,
comprehends. “I would like from an English point of view to see him
here,” he said.
“But it would be difficult for me to criticize him when he’s
training the next three weeks with two of the top four in the world
(Lee Chong Wei and Taufik Hidayat) to prepare for the All-England.
And he sits outside the system. I can’t pay him to come back and
play the English nationals. It comes out of his own money.”
Also missing is Tracey Hallam, the Commonwealth and English
national champion, for whom this tournament comes slightly too early
in her recovery from an ankle operation. But it makes the women’s
singles far more open.
Top seed is the remarkable Jill Pittard, who is a full-time
calibration engineer who somehow combines high quality badminton
into a working day which begins while it is dark and continues
pell-mell, non-stop for 16 hours. She could sleep through a bomb
scare.
The second seed is Michelle Cheung, the 17-year-old
schoolgirl who studies for A levels in the morning and does
badminton in the afternoon, and who, like Ouseph, is a London 2012
prospect.
But Cheung may face a threat from Elizabeth Cann, who is
unseeded, but who won the title two years ago, and is drawn to meet
the teenager in the quarter-finals.
 Meanwhile
Clark and Blair, world silver medalists in men’s doubles,
will be looking to retain their national title, and Emms and
Kellogg, the European women’s doubles champions, will be aiming
for their sixth national title together.
Altogether there will be five world championship medalists, 150
players from 25 counties, and countless eyes trying to spot the
emergence of fresh talent. Best in Europe by 2009 and best in the
world by 2016 are the targets identified by Adrian Christy,
Badminton England’s new chief executive.
There are some major ambitions to advance.
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