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Nathan Robertson: Live on Sky Sports

We've got every major gold medal that we can win apart from the Olympic gold now and since Gail is considering retiring after the Games, it'll be our last shot together as a partnership.

Nathan Robertson
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ALL ENGLAND BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIP
Live on Sky Sports
5.30pm, Friday - Sky Sports 3
12.30pm, Saturday - Sky Sports 3
12.30pm, Sunday - Sky Sports 2

The All England Badminton Championships are live on Sky Sports this weekend and leading the British charge will be Nathan Robertson and Gail Emms in the mixed doubles.

All of those factors make this week at the Birmingham Indoor Arena all the more important because, as Nathan Robertson explains, world rankings and seedings for the 2008 Olympics are affected by events as the All England...

skysports.com: We understand that Gail has been suffering from injury and illness, how is she getting on now?

Nathan Robertson: She did have quite a bad virus in January and at the start of February, but she's better now and she should be firing on all cylinders this week. She's been training really well for the last week so it's all looking quite good.

ss.com: And yourself, fighting fit and ready for a crack at the All England's?

NR: Definitely. We've targeted this tournament and we've been training pretty well. We're very hopeful of a good tournament.

ss.com: How far do you think you can two can go this week?

NR:Well we've won this tournament before and been in the final and our record here has been pretty good over the last few years. So we're quite confident that if we play to our best level again we can go quite far.

ss.com: We understand there is more riding on these Championships than the title itself.... what sort of result do you need to get the draw that you want in Beijing?

NR: We're in the Olympic qualifying period at the moment and everyone is trying to get enough points to get seeded for Beijing. It's important that we put in a really good performance this week if we want to give ourselves the best possible chance at the Olympics. Once you've won it once, you get the taste for it so we're pretty keen to get this title again.

We'd love to reach the final. I know everyone says that, but we've been in the final for two of the last three years and we know what it takes to get there. We've got a good draw this week, we know the pairs we're going to come up against along the way and if we play our best we're pretty confident that we can beat them. Hopes are very high.

ss.com: Moving on to the Olympics.... Most sports fans will remember your silver medal in 2004 in Athens but fewer will have noticed that you won the gold at the 2006 World champs in Madrid? Can you repeat that in Beijing?

NR: Obviously we're hoping to. We've got every major gold medal that we can win apart from the Olympic gold now and since Gail is considering retiring after the Games, it'll be our last shot together as a partnership to get the gold. It was a tough year last year with injuries for myself and I'm just coming back to full fitness and, hopefully, top form again this year. So we're definitely hoping to go a step higher on the podium.

ss.com: We understand you have dropped down the World Rankings since those World Championships? Where are you ranked right now and do you feel it is a fair reflection of your ability?

NR: We're ranked seven, but it was affected by the fact Gail had to pull out of a couple of tournaments because of her virus. But the next two tournaments - both here and at the Swiss Open - will hopefully see us go back up the rankings with some good results. When you miss a couple of tournaments it really affects your ranking. I had an operation this time last year so I don't actually have any points to defend like all the other pairs, so hopefully we'll be moving back up after these tournaments.

ss.com: Which pairs do you think are the biggest threats this week and in China?

NR: The top seeds are the Chinese and they've got three very good pairs in the top five at the moment. They are always going to be a powerhouse in world badminton and they're always dangerous. There's also the Indonesians who are the current world champions. Everyone is here this week, all the best pairs in the world are here, so everyone is going to be trying to show what they've got. It's one of the big titles that everyone wants to win. I'd say everyone is desperate to win the All England's because it's the most prestigious events outside of the Majors.

ss.com: Final question, Gail has told Sky Sports News that she might give up the game after the Olympics... what about you? Another partner, singles or another career?

NR: I certainly want to continue after Beijing because there's so many good things coming up for an English badminton player in the four years after the Olympics. We've got the European Championships, the World Championships and of course the 2012 Olympics in London. It's a long way away, but it's possible I could play there at a very high level. As an Englishman why wouldn't I want to play in the 2012 Games - it would be amazing. I'm only 30 at the moment, so I'm not thinking of retiring in the near future and carrying on will definitely be the best job I could get! If Gail stops then I'd probably take a different partner in the mixed doubles and possibly start men's doubles again

Watch Nathan and Gail at the All England Badminton Championships live on Sky Sports from Friday March 7