Monday 23rd November, 2009

Stirling Shuttle Star Susan Targets Delhi

Shuttle ace Susan Egelstaff is counting down the days to Delhi after the best performance of her career on home soil yesterday (Sunday 22 November).

Susan, a Psychology and Sports Studies graduate from the University of Stirling, already has a singles bronze medal from the 2006 Commonwealth Games and a team bronze from the 2002 Games in Manchester.

Now, after a stunning showing on home soil, winning the women's singles title at the Bank of Scotland International Championships, the 27-year-old is hungry for more medal success.

"Delhi is fast approaching and it would be great to equal my past success at the Commonwealth Games," said Susan, who is part of the University's sporting Hall of Fame alongside names such as 2009 British Open champion golfer Catriona Matthew. "The competition will be fierce, but to win another medal would be fantastic."

Second seed Susan held her nerve in Glasgow to defeat highly regarded Russian Ella Diehl 21-18, 21-10. The 2010 hopeful had already knocked out Diehl's Russian compatriot Tatiana Bibik in a hard-fought quarter-final (21-15, 12-21, 21-13) before cruising past Switzerland's Jeanine Cicognini in the semis (21-17, 21-12).

Susan said: "I played really well in all my matches and was pushed all the way with two three-set matches. Strangely, the final was actually one of the easier matches even though Ella Diehl is a world-class player.

"We've played each other plenty of times before and she has won the bulk of the matches, but I knew I had a chance because of my performances in the previous rounds. The first set was hard going, but I felt in control in the second.

"To win the tournament is arguably the best performance of my career, it's definitely up there as it's uncommon to play as consistently well in all the matches."

Susan's victory was the first for a Scot since national assistant coach Rita Yuan Gao in 2002. Rita also works as a high performance coach at Scotland's University for Sporting Excellence and while Susan has been busy competing all over the world since graduating in 2006, she has not forgotten her Stirling days.

"It was a brilliant time at Stirling and studying there was one of the best decisions I've ever made," added Susan. "The University was so supportive and the staff bent over backwards to make sure I could fit in my training with my studies.

"The facilities were brilliant and I know they are even better now. Some people leave school and go straight into full-time badminton, but for me that's too young. Stirling gave me the chance to complete a degree without sacrificing my training - I could put 100 per cent into both."