BOTHWELL'S Kirsty Gilmour is on course for a semi-final clash with four-times champion Rita Yuan Gao when the Yonex Scottish National Championships take place at Bell's Sports Centre in Perth this weekend.

Top seed Gilmour, a semi-finalist last year, starts with a bye and then faces Fiona Archibald or Emma Cook before a likely contest with Yuan Gao, who is returning from her coaching job in Switzerland to compete in the Nationals. Yuan Gao is the only previous winner of the title in the line-up.

The 18-year-old is seeded to meet three-times runner-up Linda Sloan in Sunday afternoon's final and the 22-year-old from Glasgow begins her bid with a second-round match against Rebekka Findlay or Laura Muir.