Robert Blair (born 7 August 1981) is a Scottish

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players p ...

player. Blair was born in Scotland, but after attending Loughborough University in

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

, he competed for England from 2001 until 2010, except at the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

, where Scotland and England are both parts of the

Great Britain and Northern Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

team. His main motivation for changing nation was the prospect of medals at the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

. On 16 December 2010

Badminton England Badminton England is the national governing body for the sport of badminton in England. It aims to govern, encourage and develop the sport throughout England. Originally established in 1893 as the Badminton Association of England in Portsmou ...

and

Badminton Scotland Badminton Scotland is the governing body for the sport of badminton in Scotland. It aims to govern, encourage and develop the sport for all throughout the country. Established in 1911 as the Scottish Badminton Union, it is affiliated to the B ...

announced that Blair would be returning to Scotland. The reason(s) for Blair's return to Scotland remain unclear, but reports suggest a falling-out with members of the

setup was central to the decision.

Career

Blair competed in

badminton at the 2004 Summer Olympics Badminton at the 2004 Summer Olympics was held at the Goudi Olympic Hall at the Goudi Olympic Complex from 14 August through 21 August. Both men and women competed in their own singles and doubles events and together they competed in a mixed do ...

in mixed doubles with partner

Natalie Munt Natalie Munt (born 8 November 1977) is a badminton player from the United Kingdom who currently resides in London. She participated in the 2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες ...

. They defeated

Tadashi Ohtsuka Tadashi (Kanji: 正, 禎, 忠, 荘, 匡史 Hiragana: ただし), Japanese masculine name, may refer to : *, the first aikido master to live and teach in the west *, Japanese manga story writer, novelist and screenwriter *, Japanese basketball coach ...

and

Shizuka Yamamoto is a badminton player from Japan. She competed in badminton at the 2004 Summer Olympics in women's doubles with partner Seiko Yamada. They were defeated by Chin Eei Hui and Wong Pei Tty of Malaysia in the round of 32. Yamamoto also competed in ...

of Japan in the first round but lost to

Nova Widianto Andreas Nova Widianto (born 10 October 1977) is an Indonesian former badminton player. He is currently the Indonesia national team mixed doubles head coach. Career Nova Widianto is considered one of the greatest doubles player in his era. He i ...

and

Vita Marissa Vita Marissa (born 4 January 1981) is an Indonesian retired badminton player. Career Marissa competed in badminton at the 2004 Summer Olympics in mixed doubles with partner Nova Widianto. They had a bye in the first round and defeated Rober ...

of Indonesia in the round of 16. Blair reached the men's doubles final at the

2006 IBF World Championships The 2006 IBF World Championships, the 15th tournament of the World Badminton Championships, was held in Madrid, the capital of Spain, from September 18 to 24, 2006. Host city selection Aarhus (Denmark) and Madrid (Spain) were the candidates fo ...

together with Anthony Clark, losing the final against Cai Yun and

Fu Haifeng Fu Haifeng (born 23 August 1983) is a Chinese former badminton player. He is regarded as one of the greatest men's doubles players of all time. Sport career Combining Fu Haifeng's impressive power with his regular partner Cai Yun's impressive s ...

Achievements

World Championships

''Men's doubles''

Commonwealth Games

''Men's doubles'' ''Mixed doubles''

European Championships

''Men's doubles''

BWF Grand Prix

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'' ''Mixed doubles'' : BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament : BWF & IBF Grand Prix tournament

BWF International Challenge/Series

''Men's doubles'' ''Mixed doubles'' : BWF International Challenge tournament : BWF International Series/ European Circuit tournament

Record against selected opponents

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

Tao Jiaming Tao Jiaming (; born 25 October 1985) is a badminton player from China. He was the gold medalists at the 2009 East Asian Games in the mixed doubles and men's team events. Tao Jiaming achieved his first major results in 2010 when he reached the ...

Tian Qing Tian Qing (; born 19 August 1986) is a Chinese badminton player specializing in doubles. Career Tian Qing started to practice badminton with her father Tian Jianyi who also a badminton coach in Anhua Sports School at aged 7. In 1998, she move ...

0–1 *

Xu Chen Xu Chen (; born 29 November 1984) is a badminton player from China. In 2010, he (along with his partner Guo Zhendong) was ranked within the top 10 men's badminton doubles in the world. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he competed in the mixed doubl ...

Ma Jin Ma Jin (; born 7 May 1988) is a badminton player from China who specialises in women's and mixed doubles. She partnered Wang Xiaoli in women's doubles and excelled in the category until 2010 when both players are split after China failed to defe ...

0–3 * Zhang Nan &

Zhao Yunlei Zhao Yunlei (born 25 August 1986) is a mixed and women's doubles badminton player from China. She graduated with a BA from Huazhong University of Science and Technology. She is the first and only badminton player to have ever won two gold medals ...

0–1 *

Chen Hung-ling Chen Hung-ling (; born 10 February 1986) is a Taiwanese badminton player. Chen Hung-ling is a doubles specialist. His best results have come with Cheng Wen-hsing in mixed doubles, but he routinely competes in men's doubles with Lin Yu-lang. In ...

Cheng Wen-hsing Cheng Wen-hsing (; born 24 February 1982) is a Taiwanese former badminton player. She is now works as German national team coach. Career Cheng competed for Chinese Taipei in the 2004 Olympics in the women's doubles with partner Chien Yu-chin ...

0–1 *

Joachim Fischer Nielsen Joachim Fischer Nielsen (born 23 November 1978) is a Danish retired badminton player. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he won the bronze medal in the mixed doubles with teammate Christinna Pedersen. He retired from the international tournament in th ...

Christinna Pedersen Christinna Pedersen (born 12 May 1986) is a Danish badminton player. Career Christinna Pedersen is a right-handed doubles specialist. From 2008 onwards, Pedersen paired with Joachim Fischer Nielsen in mixed doubles. The pair gained two Europ ...

0–1 *

Thomas Laybourn Thomas Laybourn (born 30 September 1977) is a retired badminton player from Denmark. He is a World Champion, two times European Champion and was ranked as world number 1 in the mixed doubles in January 2011. Career Laybourn won the 2006 Eur ...

Kamilla Rytter Juhl Kamilla Rytter Juhl (born 23 November 1983) is a retired Danish badminton player. Juhl is an Olympic silver medalist, World Championship gold medalist and seven times European champion as well. Career Rytter Juhl played as a left-handed doubl ...

0–1 * Chris Adcock &

Imogen Bankier Imogen Bankier (born 18 November 1987) is a businesswoman and former badminton player from Scotland. After starting playing the sport at the age of 9, Bankier won the national championships at every age level from Under 17 upwards. The highligh ...

1–1 *

Tontowi Ahmad Tontowi Ahmad (born 18 July 1987) is a retired Indonesian badminton player. He plays for PB. Djarum, a badminton club in Kudus, Central Java and joined the club in 2005. Tontowi Ahmad rose to prominence in the world badminton in 2010 when he pa ...

Liliyana Natsir Liliyana Natsir (born 9 September 1985) is an Indonesian former badminton player who specialized in doubles. She is one of the standout front court player, with dexterousness and skill in controlling and executing the shuttlecock. Natsir has tre ...

0–2 *

Yoo Yeon-seong Yoo Yeon-seong (; born 19 August 1986) is a South Korean professional badminton player. He specializes in doubles events and was ranked as high as No. 2 worldwide with his former partner, Ko Sung-hyun. The two also competed at the 2012 Summer ...

Jang Ye-na Chang Ye-na (; ; born 13 December 1989) is a South Korean badminton player who specializes in doubles. She competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She won gold medals at the 2013 Kazan Universiade in the mixed team and ...

0–1 *

Ko Sung-hyun Ko Sung-hyun (Hangul: 고성현; ; born 21 May 1987) is a South Korean badminton player affiliated with Gimcheon City Hall. He is a former world number 1 both in the men's and mixed doubles. Ko is a BWF World Champion, two time Badminton Asian ...

2–1 *

Robert Mateusiak Robert Bogumił Mateusiak (born 13 January 1976) is a Polish retired badminton player. Career Łogosz and Mateusiak won bronze medals at the European Championships in 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2006. Partnered with Nadieżda Zięba in the mixed ...

Nadieżda Zięba Nadieżda "Nadia" Zięba (; : Kostiuczyk; born 21 May 1984) is a Polish retired badminton player of Belarusian origin. She won the mixed doubles gold medal at the 2012 European Championships. Zięba was three times mixed doubles quarter finalis ...

0–1 * Songphon Anugritayawon &

Kunchala Voravichitchaikul Kunchala Voravichitchaikul ( th, กุลชลา วรวิจิตรชัยกุล; born 14 November 1984) is an internationally elite badminton player from Thailand. She competed at the 2006, 2010 and 2014 Asian Games. Kunchala Vo ...

2–1 * Sudket Prapakamol &

Saralee Thungthongkam Captain Saralee Thungthongkam ( th, สราลีย์ ทุ่งทองคำ ผู้พัน หรือน.อ.ส้ม; ; born 13 June 1979) is a Thai retired badminton player. She graduated with a master's degree in Communication ...

1–2

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blair, Robert 1981 births Living people Sportspeople from Edinburgh Anglo-Scots Scottish male badminton players English male badminton players Alumni of Loughborough University Badminton players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic badminton players of Great Britain Badminton players at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Badminton players at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games silver medallists for England Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for England Badminton players at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Scotland Commonwealth Games medallists in badminton