New Delhi, Aug 15 (IANS) For years, Kirsty Gilmour's career had been defined by how close she came. With five European Championship silver medals, another bronze, and countless near-misses, the Scottish shuttler had become accustomed to being the one just short of the top step. Gilmour finally won European Championship gold in Huelva, beating Denmark's Line Højmark Kjærsfeldt 21-17, 21-15 to become Scotland's first European women's singles champion.

And four months on, the significance of that breakthrough is still sinking in.

“I think so. For me, it's very nice. I think I've spent a lot of my career being defined by silver medals. And nearly, and almost. But I think it's really nice to have something on my CV that is definitive,” Gilmour told reporters on the sidelines of the BWF World Championships at the Indira Gandhi Stadium.

“And I can just say that I'm European champion. It's just a very calming thing for me to be able to definitely say about myself and my career.”

It was an achievement that carried even more weight because of what had come before it. Gilmour had finished runner-up at the European Championships five times, in 2016, 2017, 2022, 2024 and 2025, before finally breaking through this year. She also arrived in Huelva only weeks after suffering a torn calf muscle.

For someone who had spent so much of her career being defined by what she had narrowly missed, the European title offered something different: certainty. Gilmour had even made peace with the possibility of another silver before the tournament. She said after her victory that she was no longer afraid of another runner-up finish, a mindset that ultimately helped her win the title.

At the World Championships in New Delhi, however, she is not allowing that breakthrough to change the way she approaches her career. Asked whether the European title could become a springboard for Scottish badminton, Gilmour was cautiously optimistic.

“Maybe we'll see that in the long term. It's hard to say how much that's helped in four months. But yeah, I hope that that will be a little checkpoint. That might be the springboard to something bigger for Scottish badminton.”

For Gilmour, the importance of the title extends beyond adding another medal to a decorated career. It has changed the language she can use to describe herself.

After years of “nearly” and “almost”, there is finally a definitive answer. “I can just say that I'm the European champion,” she said.

--IANS

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