Nathan targets gold to keep partnership alive

They have proved consistent winners at home and abroad - in Athens four summers ago they were silver medalists, in Spain in 2006 they won the world championship, they are former European and reigning Commonwealth titles holders, and they have been English national champions four times.

Now, at the age of 31, Emms has announced she will quit international badminton after the Beijing Games. But Robertson, also 31, believes the prospect of defending the mixed doubles title in London in 2012 may persuade British badminton's pin-up girl to change her mind.

Robertson said: "It is my job to get us to the top of the podium, then Gail might keep herself on court for four more years.

"If you're at the top of your game, winning tournaments and major medals, it will be very difficult to retire.

"For me, finishing in London would be a defining moment of my career. As soon as it was announced that London had got the Olympics I saw it as a chance to try and achieve in our home Games.

"But losing Gail would be huge. As a player she is always fantastic to have in the British team, and as a partner she is almost irreplaceable."

In truth, they make the most unlikely of court comrades.

Robertson is tall, strong and an intimidating tournament force who can send shuttlecocks whizzing through the air at over 180mph. Yet away from the net he is so laid back. Emms, by contrast, is a petite pony-tailed blonde whose personality bubbles.

"She's all-action all the time, I'm more chilled," said Robertson. "But it works for us on court. When we get into the flow we go into this brilliant auto-badminton mode. It is hard to achieve but if you can get there the result is just fantastic.

"We have this natural understanding - we automatically know what the other one is doing or where they're going - and that natural flow is what we aim to take to Beijing."

Robertson and Emms will need to be at their best because the draw has thrown them a tough first-round challenge in China's Zheng Bo and Gao Ling.

It was Gao and former partner Zhang Jun who beat the British pair in a gripping gold medal shoot-out in 2004. And since the Athens Olympics, Gao and Zheng have beaten Robertson and Emms in all four of their matches.

It was to prepare for just such an eventuality that Robertson underwent ankle surgery just three months ago. He admitted: "It could have gone wrong, with Beijing being so close. But there are so many good couples competing in mixed doubles now that Gail walking on court 100 per cent fit and me walking on court 90 per cent fit wouldn't have been good enough for an Olympic Games."

No effort was spared to help the pair, with British head coach Ian Wright even hiring Birmingham's National Indoor Arena (NIA) for a practice match against Poland's top pair.

Wright said: "The hall at our Milton Keynes headquarters is too good in many ways. In the bigger, slower halls, like the NIA, Nathan has to work harder for his points so it was good match practice for him."

Wright also brought along life-size cardboard cut-outs of Gao and Zheng for some light-hearted target practice.

Robertson recalled: "It was hilarious. One of my first shots hit Zheng's arm so hard that it fell off. When someone else knocked the top of Gao Ling's head off they had to reinforce the cut-outs."

It will be a lot more serious in the Olympic badminton hall, where a partisan capacity crowd of 7,500 will be baying for British blood.

Robertson said: "It will be noisy, it will be oppressive, but that will just act as an added incentive for us. Gail and I won the China Open - to take out a Chinese pair in their own Olympics would be fantastic.

"We've got huge potential, Gail and myself. We've shown that over and over again in major tournaments. And I have a good feeling we'll do it this time, too."