After focussing on the Scots who are eyeing gold medals at Glasgow 2014, it is time now to profile the badminton stars from across the Commonwealth who intend to claim the coveted prize for themselves.

We've already heard about Malaysian Lee Chong Wei, the twice-defending Commonwealth champion and double Olympic silver medallist, however with some of international badminton's biggest names heading to the Emirates Arena in the summer, it is impossible to predict who will emerge with the prize every athlete aspires to - a Gold medal.

With no Chinese participants, the field opens up even more for a surprise champion. What would be less surprising, though, is if the eventual champion hailed from slightly closer to home than the Far East.

England is the most successful country in the history of badminton at the Commonwealth Games, with a staggering 33 gold medals since the event began, and its representatives in the East End will have high hopes of adding to that tally.

With Nathan Robertson, former World Champion, Olympic silver medallist and Commonwealth champion, and Team England's flag bearer in Delhi four years ago, signed up an ambassador for the team, the players will be able to take advice from the best, as they look to return south of the border laden in Gold.

Perhaps England's brightest hope is Rajiv Ouseph. The current English number one holds four singles titles from the English National Championships, among an impressive haul of titles which also includes Scottish Open, Irish Open, Canadian Open, European Circuit finals, and US Open singles crowns. The world number 20 also has Commonwealth Games pedigree, having reached the final of the men's singles event in Delhi in 2010, only to have to settle for silver after a defeat against Lee.

Ouseph will be looking to go one better this time around, while in the doubles event, high hopes are held for Chris Adcock and Andy Ellis. Interestingly, Adcock has a Scottish connection in the sport, as a former partner in mixed doubles of our very own Imogen Bankier. Indeed, the pair had a successful on-court partnership which almost yielded a World Championship title, as they made it to the final of the 2011 event in London. Now, however, Adcock is ranked fifth in the world in doubles, and alongside partner Ellis, travels to Glasgow amid high expectations.

Meanwhile, since our last badminton blog, Scotland's finest have been competing in the European Championships in the Russian city of Kazan. It seemed like Imogen Bankier was on a collision course with Adcock in the mixed doubles event. But Adcock was eliminated in the last 16, when a win would have set up a quarter-final clash with Bankier and Robert Blair.

As it happened, the husband-and-wife Adcock duo's conquerors, Danes Anders Kristiansen and Julie Houmann, put an end to the Scots' hopes in the mixed doubles. However, Bankier was still involved in the female doubles event, and reached the semi-finals with Bulgarian partner Petya Nedelcheva, where they would face more Danish hurdles in the form of top seeds and defending champions Christinna Pedersen and Kamilla Rytter, winning game one - the first the Danes had lost in the entire tournament - before bowing out.

In the singles, Scotland's Glasgow 2014 gold medal hopeful Kirsty Gilmour lost in the third round, but now, all roads lead to the Emirates Arena for the home grown badminton stars, and they should be wary of foes just down the road when the hunt for gold begins in late July.