Wikipedia

Robert Blair (badminton)

Robert Blair (born 7 August 1981) is a Scottish badminton player.

Robert Blair
Personal information
CountryScotland
Born (1981-08-07) 7 August 1981 (age 43)
Edinburgh, Scotland
Height6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
HandednessRight
Mixed & men's doubles
Highest ranking6 (in XD)
4 (in MD)
Medal record
Men's badminton
Representing  Scotland
Commonwealth Games
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Glasgow Mixed doubles
Representing  England
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2006 Madrid Men's doubles
Sudirman Cup
Bronze medal – third place 2007 Glasgow Mixed team
European Mixed Team Championships
Silver medal – second place 2009 Liverpool Mixed team
European Men's Team Championships
Silver medal – second place 2008 Almere Men's team
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Thessalonica Men's team
Commonwealth Games
Silver medal – second place 2006 Melbourne Mixed team
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Melbourne Men's doubles
BWF profile

Blair was born in Scotland, but after attending Loughborough University in Leicestershire, he competed for England from 2001 until 2010, except at the Olympic Games, where Scotland and England are both parts of the Great Britain and Northern Ireland team. His main motivation for changing nation was the prospect of medals at the Commonwealth Games.

On 16 December 2010 Badminton England and Badminton Scotland announced that Blair would be returning to Scotland.[1][2] The reason(s) for Blair's return to Scotland remain unclear, but reports suggest a falling-out with members of the Badminton England setup was central to the decision.[3][4][5]

Career

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Blair competed in badminton at the 2004 Summer Olympics in mixed doubles with partner Natalie Munt. They defeated Tadashi Ohtsuka and Shizuka Yamamoto of Japan in the first round but lost to Nova Widianto and Vita Marissa of Indonesia in the round of 16.

Blair reached the men's doubles final at the 2006 IBF World Championships together with Anthony Clark, losing the final against Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng.

Achievements

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World Championships

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Men's doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
2006 Palacio de Deportes de la Comunidad de Madrid, Madrid, Spain   Anthony Clark   Cai Yun
  Fu Haifeng 		9–21, 13–21   Silver

Commonwealth Games

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Men's doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
2006 Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, Melbourne, Australia   Anthony Clark   Ashley Brehaut
  Travis Denney 		21–6, 21–14   Bronze

Mixed doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
2014 Emirates Arena, Glasgow, Scotland   Imogen Bankier   Chan Peng Soon
  Lai Pei Jing 		21–17, 21–11   Bronze

European Championships

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Men's doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
2006 Maaspoort, Den Bosch, Netherlands   Anthony Clark   Mathias Boe
  Carsten Mogensen 		17–21, 21–11, 18–21   Bronze

BWF Grand Prix

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The BWF Grand Prix had two levels, the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold. It was a series of badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) and played between 2007 and 2017. The World Badminton Grand Prix was sanctioned by the International Badminton Federation from 1983 to 2006.

Men's doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
2005 Thessaloniki World Grand Prix   Anthony Clark   Michael Fuchs
  Roman Spitko 		15–6, 15–9   Winner
2006 German Open   Anthony Clark   Jung Jae-sung
  Lee Yong-dae 		11–15, 6–15   Runner-up
2007 Bitburger Open   David Lindley   Mathias Boe
  Carsten Mogensen 		17–21, 15–21   Runner-up

Mixed doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
2004 Indonesia Open   Natalie Munt   Zhang Jun
  Gao Ling 		9–15, 9–15   Runner-up
2005 Thessaloniki World Grand Prix   Natalie Munt   Anthony Clark
  Donna Kellogg 		4–15, 15–6, 13–15   Runner-up
2006 Swiss Open   Natalie Munt   Nathan Robertson
  Gail Emms 		17–14, 7–15, 2–15   Runner-up
2006 Dutch Open   Jenny Wallwork   Flandy Limpele
  Vita Marissa 		21–18, 21–18   Winner
2007 Bitburger Open   Imogen Bankier   Kristof Hopp
  Birgit Overzier 		17–21, 17–21   Runner-up
2010 German Open   Imogen Bankier   Yohan Hadikusumo Wiratama
  Tse Ying Suet 		5–15 retired   Runner-up
2011 German Open   Gabrielle White   Shintaro Ikeda
  Reiko Shiota 		16–21, 21–16, 21–15   Winner
2013 Scottish Open   Imogen Bankier   Chris Langridge
  Heather Olver 		21–16, 21–14   Winner
2014 German Open   Imogen Bankier   Ko Sung-hyun
  Kim Ha-na 		21–15, 21–18   Winner
2014 Scottish Open   Imogen Bankier   Niclas Nøhr
  Sara Thygesen 		21–18, 21–14   Winner
  BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament
  BWF & IBF Grand Prix tournament

BWF International Challenge/Series

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Men's doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
2000 New Zealand International   Russell Hogg   John Gordon
  Daniel Shirley 		16–17, 7–15   Runner-up
2000 Irish International   Russell Hogg   Alastair Gatt
  Craig Robertson 		15–12, 12–15, 5–15   Runner-up
2001 Irish International   Stephen Foster   Mike Beres
  Kyle Hunter 		7–3, 7–3, 6–8, 8–7   Winner
2002 Austrian International   James Anderson   Peter Jeffrey
  Ian Palethorpe 		7–2, 7–3, 7–5   Winner
2002 Irish International   Ian Palethorpe   Peter Jeffrey
  Julian Robertson 		15–5, 14–17, 15–9   Winner
2004 Portugal International   Simon Archer   Liu Kwok Wa
  Albertus Susanto Njoto 		15–9, 12–15, 15–7   Winner
2007 Scottish International   David Lindley   Vitalij Durkin
  Aleksandr Nikolaenko 		21–18, 21–12   Winner
2012 Bulgarian International   Tan Bin Shen   Andreas Heinz
  Max Schwenger 		18–21, 25–23, 21–18   Winner
2012 Turkey International   Tan Bin Shen   Magnus Sahlberg
  Mattias Wigardt 		21–11, 21–15   Winner

Mixed doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
2001 Bulgarian International   Natalie Munt   Paul Trueman
  Liza Parker 		4–7, 4–7, 7–2, –, –   Winner
2001 Scottish International   Natalie Munt   William Milroy
  Denyse Julien 		8–6, 7–1, 8–6   Winner
2001 Irish International   Natalie Munt   Bo Rafn
  Helle Nielsen 		7–4, 3–7, 7–1, 7–5   Winner
2002 Scottish International   Natalie Munt   Nikolai Zuyev
  Marina Yakusheva 		6–11, 13–12, 11–9   Winner
2003 Spanish International   Natalie Munt   Jörgen Olsson
  Frida Andreasson 		17–16, 15–10   Winner
2007 Scottish International   Imogen Bankier   Aleksandr Nikolaenko
  Nina Vislova 		15–21, 22–20, 21–9   Winner
2013 French International   Imogen Bankier   Marcus Ellis
  Alyssa Lim 		21–17, 21–17   Winner
2013 Kharkiv International   Imogen Bankier   Kim Astrup
  Maria Helsbøl 		20–22, 21–9, 21–18   Winner
2013 Bulgarian International   Imogen Bankier   Robert Mateusiak
  Agnieszka Wojtkowska 		21–17, 21–15   Winner
2013 Irish Open   Imogen Bankier   Jacco Arends
  Selena Piek 		21–9, 19–21, 13–21   Runner-up
2014 Swedish Masters   Imogen Bankier   Peter Käsbauer
  Isabel Herttrich 		24–22, 14–21, 21–16   Winner
2014 Orleans International   Imogen Bankier   Niclas Nøhr
  Sara Thygesen 		21–13, 19–21, 21–18   Winner
2014 Spanish Open   Imogen Bankier   Robert Mateusiak
  Agnieszka Wojtkowska 		21–13, 14–21, 21–16   Winner
2015 Swiss International   Pia Zebadiah Bernadet   Bodin Isara
  Savitree Amitrapai 		18–21, 25–23, 21–18   Winner
  BWF International Challenge tournament
  BWF International Series/ European Circuit tournament

Record against selected opponents

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Mixed Doubles results with Gabrielle White against Super Series finalists, World Championships semifinalists, and Olympic quarterfinalists.[6]

References

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  1. ^ "Blair returns to Scotland". badmintonengland.co.uk. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011.
  2. ^ Robert Returns to Scotland
  3. ^ Blair returns home after fall-out with England
  4. ^ "Badminton: Defector Robert Blair quits England and returns to Scotland". The Scotsman.
  5. ^ There may be more to Blair's return to Scotland to train than meets the eye
  6. ^ "tournamentsoftware.com". tournamentsoftware.com.
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