Gail wants Britain in big league

14 April 2012

Tickets to the climax this weekend of the Yonex All-England Open Badminton Championships have, metaphorically, been flying out of the box office faster than a goose-feathered shuttlecock, which, since you ask, can out-speed squash and tennis balls at a sizzling 190mph when whacked by a professional.

Darren Parks, a delighted tournament director at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, explained: "There's no doubting the difference Nathan Robertson and Gail Emms have made to ticket sales. Their Olympic silver medal has been like a magnet for our badminton events this season."

Coming in the wake of Sport England's recent announcement that grass roots investment in badminton is to benefit by a whopping £16million over the next four years, it would seem everything is rosy.

So why is Emms, badminton's bubbly pin-up girl, feeling distinctly flat when she considers the current state of the sport at elite level? Perhaps she's feeling lonely.

They may be packing them in at the Indoor Arena, but the exit door at the Badminton Association of England headquarters in Milton Keynes has been swinging off its hinges.

Stephen Baddeley recently quit his post as chief executive of the BAE to become director of sport at Sport England. Performance director Finn Traerup-Hansen, so instrumental in the Olympic success enjoyed by the mixed doubles pairing of Emms and Robertson, has accepted a similar post in his native Denmark. And Steve Butler, the national singles coach, is joining a leading racket manufacturer.

The departure of Traerup-Hansen is a particular blow to Emms, even though he was vehement in his criticism of the Olympic runners-up for their apparent lack of commitment and form in tournaments leading up to Christmas.

Emms admits to enjoying her Olympic success with guest appearances on television programmes like 'A Question of Sport' and 'They Think It's All Over'. She said: "I had the time of my life doing those things and I have no regrets. But we have a lot of respect for Finn. He is someone you can trust and he'll be a big loss."

An ambition shared by the player and her coach was the founding of a National League. The fact that Traerup-Hansen is departing without that ambition having been realised is of concern to Emms.

She said: "If it doesn't happen soon, I fear it may not happen at all.

We would have lost the momentum of the publicity we gained from the Olympics. As a sport we have to start appealing to a younger audience."

Emms speaks from experience. She and Robertson play for Hvidovre in the Danish League, where important matches can attract thousands of spectators and regular television coverage.

The professional game, fast and fiery, is even more popular in the Far East and Asia, where 74 million Chinese tuned in to the Olympic mixed-doubles final, which saw Zhang Jun and Gao Ling emerge victorious against Emms and Robertson.

"It's just mad out there," said Emms. "The Indonesians are the worst. They're absolutely crazy. If you make a mistake they think nothing of laughing and pointing at you, and when 5,000 people are doing that it can be quite daunting.

"There's no reason why we can't have something like that atmosphere in a big league here. But the sport has got to be marketed right. They're doing it now in the United States, where they'll hold the world championships later this year. Badminton's becoming cool over there, so why not here?"

Emms and Robertson certainly do their bit to lend a sense of drama to their matches. Robertson, lean and mean with shoulder-length hair, struts the court with an air of overt intimidation. Emms competes like a terrier, sinking her teeth into rallies and not letting go until the point is won.

They'll be playing tonight when victory in a quarter-final against Anggun Mugroho and Yunita Tetty of Indonesia will set the British pair up nicely for home revenge in a semifinal against Zhang and Gao.

Emms, already setting her sights on a gold medal in Beijing, insisted: "I know that when Nathan and I are on form and peaking, there's no-one who will beat us."

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Gail wants Britain in big league

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