SUSAN EGELSTAFF will aim to match her 2006 individual bronze in Melbourne and her 2002 team bronze in Manchester when she leads the Scotland badminton team into action at the XIX Commonwealth Games in Delhi from October 3-14.

Egelstaff will win her 82nd cap when she plays in Scotland’s opening match at the Siri Fort Sports Complex. The team event runs from October 4-8, followed by the five individual events from October 9-14.

Commonwealth Games Scotland today named  the five-woman, three-man squad Watson Briggs, Kieran Merrilees, Paul van Rietvelde, Imogen Bankier, Jillie Cooper, Susan Egelstaff , Kirsty Gilmour and Emma Mason. 

Glasgow’s Egelstaff, the reigning Bank of Scotland International women’s singles champion who will turn 28 during the Games, is by far the most experienced member of the squad and is Britain’s highest ranked women’s singles player at No 27 in the world rankings. She is the only  remaining athlete from the bronze-medal winning team in Manchester.

Egelstaff said of her prospects in Delhi: “I will be seeded in the singles at the Commonwealth Games , but I think it will be similar to last time. There will be eight to 10 players capable of getting into the medals and it will all come down to who plays best on the day.”

In contrast to Egelstaff, teenager Kirsty Gilmour, who will be 17 next month, is the baby of the team with just four caps since making her debut at this year’s Uber Cup qualifiers in February. But she has one more cap than 19-year-old Paul van Rietvelde, who has also made his Scotland debut this year.

Scotland are boosted by the return to fitness of Imogen Bankier, who will expect to make an impact in women’s doubles with Emma Mason and in mixed with Watson Briggs after recovering from a long and frustrating knee problem which ruined last season for her.

Congratulating the team, Michael Cavanagh, Chairman of Commonwealth Games Scotland said: “I am delighted to welcome the eight players to Team Scotland for the 2010 Commonwealth Games. I hope that they now can focus over the next six weeks on their final preparations that will put them in the best possible shape for the Games.”

BADMINTONscotland Chief Executive Anne Smillie said: “Apart from Susan, this is a young squad but we want to give them their chance on this big international stage as they represent Scotland’s future as well as the present.”

The team will be managed by the experienced Julie Hogg, who was Assistant Manager of the team for the Sudirman Cup in Glasgow in 2007, while the team coach will be Yvette Yun Luo, who guided England’s Tracey Hallam to individual gold in Melbourne four years ago before joining BADMINTONscotland as head coach in January.

Julie Hogg said: “I know several of the squad well from the Sudirman Cup and I know what we are capable of. I look forward to us making our mark in the team event once again despite not contesting it in Melbourne.”

The squad will leave for Delhi on September 30 but first Egelstaff, Merrilees, Bankier and Mason will be tackling next week’s Yonex BWF World Championships in Paris.

Men
Watson Briggs, 23 (13/07/87), Renfrew 27 caps
Kieran Merrilees, 20 (12/09/89), Glasgow, 7 caps
Paul van Rietvelde, 19 (07/08/91), Longniddry, 3 caps

Women
Imogen Bankier, 22 (18/11/87), Glasgow, 35 caps
Jillie Cooper, 22 (09/05/88), Edinburgh, 20 caps
Susan Egelstaff, 27 (21/10/82), Glasgow, 81 caps
Kirsty Gilmour, 16 (21/9/93), Bothwell,  4 caps
Emma Mason, 24 (28/06/86), Edinburgh, 22 caps
 
Team Leader: Julie Hogg
Head Coach: Yvette Yun Luo