OLYMPICS LONDON 2012: Egelstaff eases past Slovakia's Maja Tvrdy

Posted: Saturday 28th July 2012 | 14:13

By Sportsbeat staff, London 2012

SUSAN Egelstaff made a confident start to her badminton women's singles London 2012 campaign with an easy victory in her Olympics debut.

Egelstaff proved too strong for Slovakia's Maja Tvrdy in the first of her three group matches and took just 34 minutes to chalk off the win.

The Scot, a bronze medallist at the 2006 Commonwealth Games and six-time national champion, won through 21-15, 21-10 and faces a two-day break before her next encounter – world number 12 opponent Sayaka Sato.

"I was really nervous because it's such a massive occasion. It started off a little bit scrappy but I feel I've played really well," she said.

"I'm not expecting to get a medal at all but the target in the meantime is just to play well. It's nice not having too high expectations, it means I can just play."

"In such a massive tournament like the Olympics you can't really predict what's going to happen. I definitely wasn't complacent – it was a really nice run.

“It's not getting any easier now with Sato next. I beat her before but obviously she's a much better player now."