Scotland’s Arctic Open campaign ended in Vantaa on 8 October as Kirsty Gilmour, Matt and Chris Grimley, Alex Dunn and Adam Pringle, and Dunn with Julie MacPherson were all beaten in their last-16 matches. The four defeats meant none of the Scottish players who remained in the draw progressed to the quarter-finals.
Gilmour, who had opened her women’s singles campaign by beating India’s Malvika Bansod, faced China’s third seed Yue Han. Badminton Scotland reported that Han controlled the match and won 21-10, 21-11. The result ended Gilmour’s run after one victory in Vantaa.
Before the match, Badminton Scotland had said Han had won each of the pair’s four previous meetings on tour. Gilmour’s opening-round result had nevertheless taken her through after Bansod had won their two earlier encounters, according to the Scottish governing body. Her run therefore included a reversal of one previous match-up before the third seed ended her progress in the last 16.
The scoreline also underlined the changing shape of the contest. Gilmour scored 10 points in the opening game and 11 in the second, while Han won each game by at least 10 points. That was a markedly different margin from Gilmour’s 21-18, 21-13 first-round win over Bansod, when the opening game had been decided by three points.
Four Scottish last-16 exits
The Grimley twins had arrived in the men’s doubles last 16 after a 21-8, 21-8 victory over Finnish qualifiers Honkanen and Paul. Their next opponents, a Thai pair, had already beaten Danish pair Lundgaard and Vestergaard, according to Badminton Scotland.
Matt and Chris Grimley were unable to extend their run, losing 21-18, 21-11 to the Thai pair. The first game remained close, with only three points separating the pairs, but the Thai partnership established a clearer advantage in the second. Across the two games, the Grimleys scored 29 points to their opponents’ 42, a 13-point overall difference.
The outcome also contrasted with the pair’s previous meeting with the Thai pair. Badminton Scotland had reported that the Grimleys won that contest at the 2024 Canada Open. In Vantaa, however, the Thai pair followed their victory over the Danish opponents by stopping the Scots’ run, with the first game offering the closer of the two contests.
Dunn and Pringle produced Scotland’s narrowest defeat of the day. The pair had reached the last 16 by beating England’s Zach Russ and Alex Green 21-15, 14-21, 21-15, having recovered control in the deciding game. In their next match, France’s Maio and Villeger won 21-18, 21-19.
That result was especially tight in the second game, where just two points separated the pairs. Dunn and Pringle scored 37 points across the match to Maio and Villeger’s 42, so the combined five-point margin was the smallest among Scotland’s four last-16 losses.
| Scottish entrants | Opponents | Last-16 result |
|---|---|---|
| Kirsty Gilmour | Yue Han, China | Lost 21-10, 21-11 |
| Matt and Chris Grimley | Thai pair | Lost 21-18, 21-11 |
| Alex Dunn and Adam Pringle | Maio and Villeger, France | Lost 21-18, 21-19 |
| Alex Dunn and Julie MacPherson | Jiang and Wei, China | Lost 21-9, 21-12 |
Mixed doubles pair face seeded Chinese opposition
Dunn and MacPherson had begun Scotland’s week with a 23-21, 21-15 win over Denmark’s Mette Werge and Kristoffer Kolding. That victory took them into the last 16, where they met China’s third-seeded Jiang and Wei.
Badminton Scotland reported that Jiang and Wei won 21-9, 21-12. The result completed a day in which each of Scotland’s four remaining entries came up against opposition from China, Thailand or France, with no Scottish pairing able to add to the earlier wins that had set up the last-16 schedule.
Dunn appeared in two of Scotland’s four final matches, in men’s doubles with Pringle and mixed doubles with MacPherson. Both matches ended in straight games, although the men’s doubles score was considerably closer: Dunn and Pringle were within two points in the second game, while Dunn and MacPherson scored nine and 12 points against Jiang and Wei.
The immediate competitive consequence is straightforward: Scotland’s involvement in the Arctic Open ended before the quarter-finals. There is, however, little recovery time for the group. Badminton Scotland said the players will next travel to Odense for the Victor Denmark Open, which is due to start on Tuesday.