Even before the mixed final we can say that GB have had a very successful olympics: GB won all the matches they should have won and most of the matches they could have won: MS Vaughan won 1 st round as expected but was outclassed by one of the top players at the event in Shon Mo WS Morgan won first round and put up good fight against world champ Hallam won first round, caused big upset against a (very below par) Camilla, outclassed by Mia, a top 5 player. Hallam euro no.1 at moment. MD Robertson/Clark won 1 st round lost to won of top 4 pairs in Flandi /Eng, might have seen it as a missed opportunity but they have yet to show they can beat several top pairs in a row. WD Two pairs in last 16 Mixed Blair Munt lost to top eight pair and of course Gold or Silver for Robs/Emms On the downside there is little strength in depth, hopefully Hallam (already 29) can continue her best ever form but for her, Morgan and Vaughan it is likely their last olympics, likewise of the back up singles Haughton looks finished and Mann is nearing the end of her career. Hopefully Ghaffar will rise to Vaughan's standard. The doubles players should be ok for a few years but we need to see Blair form a mens partnership for the future since Archer will not be able to sustain 2 events, even if he contiunes in mixed.
I saw Kellogg/Emms and Tripp/Wright playing their WD matches and they looked much stronger than they did at the World Championships last year. I was especially impressed by their smashing and their defences (I don't remember seeing Kellogg do a single jump smash last year). Against Zhao/Wei (the world number 3 pair) Kellogg/Emms did well and looked like they could have won on another day. They lost but in both their matches they had stretches where they dominated their opponents, so that could spell a very bright future if they keep improving like that.
Definite improvements as you correctly say. Another noticeable thing about this olympics is that the top MS singles players in this tournament are phenomenal. If only we could produce someone who could mix it up at that skill level.
I saw Kellogg jump smash in HK Open at the end of last year. In fact, I was quite impressed with her athletiscism. Saw her beat the HK pair. She really moves around well at the rear court
