Wood the latest appointment in Badminton England overhaul

BADMINTON England have continued to ring the changes in preparation for the London 2012 Olympics with the appointment of Andy Wood as Great Britain head coach.

SUCCESS STORY: The brains behind the Olympic success of Nathan Robertson and Gail Emms, Andy Wood, has been handed the GB reins

Wood is among the most renowned coaches across the world and was instrumental in helping Nathan Robertson and Gail Emms to Olympic silver, as well as European, world and Commonwealth gold medals.

His appointment comes less than two weeks after Vikki McPherson was unveiled as Great Britain's new head of performance while Kenneth Jonassen has also recently been confirmed as the new men's singles coach.

"I am excited and challenged by this new role which allows me to be fully integrated across our performance group," said Wood, who also coached Simon Archer and Joanne Goode to bronze at Sydney 2000 - Great Britain's first Olympic badminton medal.

"We have an exciting blend of talented youth and experienced achievers both within the playing squad and the coaching team.

"With everybody pulling together in an honest, driven, accountable environment then I believe we are very capable of achieving more consistent podium success on the international stage."

Wood's first task will be to lead England's nine-strong squad, which features recently-crowned US Open champion Rajiv Ouseph, to a Denmark training camp ahead of the World Championships in Paris this month.

Badminton England chief executive Adrian Christy said: "Our performance aspirations are all about achieving success and Andy's track record at European, Commonwealth, world and Olympic level is just the experience we were looking to secure.

"Andy will play a pivotal role in establishing a truly world-class environment on court and I know he will prove a continued inspiration to our senior players as well as the next generation of talent we are very focused on developing."