New Delhi, August 15, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Sixteen years after arriving in Delhi as a 17-year-old competing at her first senior Commonwealth Games, Scottish badminton star Kirsty Gilmour has returned to the Indian capital for what she believes is her 10th World Championships, carrying the experience of a long international career and a maiden European title.
Reflecting on the passage of time at the Indira Gandhi Stadium, Gilmour said her perspective had changed dramatically since her first visit.
“I was a kid when I played here in the first place. But I’m the oldest I’ve ever been, right now,” she said.
At the 2010 Commonwealth Games, Gilmour competed in singles, women’s doubles and the mixed team event. At just 17, she viewed the tournament primarily as an opportunity to gain as much court time as possible.
“My job in Delhi 2010 was to play as much badminton as possible. I was 17; I played doubles, singles and mixed. And it was just minutes on court. And that helped me so much going into the next Commonwealth Games in my home city of Glasgow, 2014,” she recalled.
That early exposure proved valuable. At Glasgow 2014, Gilmour reached the women’s singles final, becoming the first Scottish woman to achieve the feat, before settling for silver.
“When I found myself as the second seed. And if I hadn’t had that Delhi experience, then it would have maybe been a whole different ballgame,” she said, describing the 2010 experience as “really, really key”.
Gilmour made her World Championships debut in Guangzhou in 2013 and believes the Delhi edition marks her 10th appearance at the global event.
“How different is it? Not so different. I think the sense of occasion is pretty consistent over all the years,” she said, adding that the tournament’s mix of emerging and established players creates a special atmosphere.
Her longevity has also allowed her to witness an entire generation of women’s singles stars rise and eventually move on. At her first World Championships, she faced Taiwan’s Tai Tzu Ying, who has since retired.
Gilmour believes the women’s singles field could undergo a major transition during the next Olympic cycle, with several leading players now in their 30s.
“I think, I’m just theorising here, but maybe LA will be a very revolutionary Olympic Games for women’s singles,” she said, referring to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
The Scottish veteran has herself reached a significant career milestone this year, winning the European women’s singles title after five previous runner-up finishes and a bronze medal. Her 2026 triumph also gave Scotland its first European women’s singles gold in the event.
“I’ve spent a lot of my career being defined by silver medals. And nearly, and almost. But I think it’s really nice to have something on my CV that is definitive. And I can just say that I’m European champion,” Gilmour said.
Beyond her achievements on court, Gilmour said sustaining a career at the highest level has required her to build and manage a life around constant travel, training and competition.
“For a lot of the European players, we don’t have so much of a structure. We don’t live at the National Centre; we don’t have rooms. We have to build our own life with a house and a partner and all those kinds of things,” she said.
She believes that balancing act has contributed to her resilience.
“But I think that’s made me quite a resilient and tough person, and I wouldn’t be without badminton,” Gilmour said.
She also reflected on how badminton and life outside the sport have provided balance during difficult periods.
“When tough things happen in your life, outside of badminton, you always have badminton to go to,” she said, adding that when things are difficult on the court, life away from the sport can provide another source of perspective.
Sixteen years after Delhi introduced Gilmour to the demands of senior international badminton, she has returned to the city as a European champion and one of the most experienced players in the women’s singles field.
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