As Robert Blair stood on the podium in Manchester eight years ago, he looked up at the podium with a mixture of fulsome pride and a little regret.
The wave of appreciation as his Commonwealth badminton silver and bronze were saluted remains unforgettable but back home, in East Lothian, different colours were being pinned to the mast. English in uniform, a Scot to his core, it was an uneasy truce brokered by a desire to achieve.
Now 32, and one of the 10-strong Caledonian squad chosen for Glasgow, Blair recalls the furore that met a defection that was underpinned by a then-superior set-up down south. "My mates called me everything you could imagine," he said. "They didn't make it easy for me. Badminton isn't a high-profile sport. It isn't like football where there's lots of money. You need some support or you don't play. They knew that was the basis for my decision."
Times have changed. The sport now has its own Scottish centre of excellence at Scotstoun and Blair, who repatriated himself four years ago, is flourishing back at his roots. Top-class sport is individual by its nature, of course. For all the chatter about playing for flags and of patriotism, it is ultimately all about self or team. However Blair, despite the successes of 2006 which also included a world silver, was affected by the identity confusion. "I tried to do the best I could. But whenever I achieved, you did wish there was a different anthem, that you were wearing a different shirt with a different flag on. It was quite overwhelming coming back to play for Scotland again for the first time, seeing the different flag. It gives you a greater sense of pride."
Paired with Imogen Bankier, he has a clear shot at redemption. This time, his native village of Longniddry will light two candles, not one. Also in the Scotland side is Paul Van Rietvelde, another product from the local club overseen by Blair's mother Irene. "It's a strange situation," recounts the elder. "I remember seeing Paul - he's 10 years younger than me - as a little kid. To see him now in the team and doing well is great, especially from a small village." Home, is where their heart is.
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