Emms plots revenge on Chinese pairing

IF revenge is a dish best served cold then Milton Keynes badminton star Gail Emms has vowed to be ice cool when she and Nathan Robertson meet old foe Gao Ling in the first round.

Emms, 31, has already tasted defeat in Beijing after losing in the women's doubles with Donna Kellogg to China's third seeds Yili Wei and Yawen Zhang on Sunday but has an opportunity to bounce straight back today against a familiar face.

Gao and then partner Zhang Jun pipped the British pairing to gold in Athens and Emms insists there would be nothing sweeter to bow out on than beating the home favourites Gao and new partner Zheng Bo in their own backyard.

She said: "She(Gao) beat us to a gold medal last time so we would like to send her into early retirement.

"When we first saw the draw I thought we could have had an easier match but then if you with that attitude then they have almost won already.

"The expectation is on them. It is the first match in their own Olympics so in a way we have got it. Home country, home Olympics - all the pressure is on them.

"We have won the China Open in 2005 before and that was nice. It would be sweeter to win there."

Since coming together as teenagers for the Nottingham under-16 open, Emms and Robertson have reigned as the golden pair of British badminton.

The duo - who both train at the Milton Keynes Badminton Centre - have become European, Commonwealth and World champions and also became the first Brits ever to win an Olympic silver in the sport.

And Emms admitted there is just one thing she wants to add to her glittering CV before she puts away her racket for the last time after the Olympics.

She added: "The only thing missing is an Olympic gold medal. This is our best chance to get it.

"We always feel pressure when you go into big events. You put pressure on yourself because you want to go out there and win medals for your country.

"There's expectation because of the final at the last Olympics. People come up to you in the street and say you have to win gold this time.

"Because badminton is a huge event in China, they put so much pressure on their athletes to walk away with the medals for any GB athlete to win is a fantastic achievement."

DANIEL SCHOFIELD in Beijing