• London Olympics 2012

Badminton star Robertson calls time on his career

Nathan Robertson has announced his retirement from badminton © Getty Images

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Former Olympic silver medallist Nathan Robertson has announced his retirement after failing to secure a place at London 2012.

The 35-year-old, who won silver at the 2004 Athens Olympics with Gail Emms, has decided to hang up his racket after he and mixed doubles partner Jenny Wallwork were edged out by Chris Adcock and Imogen Bankier for a place in Team GB for this summer's Games.

"For neutral fans, it has been entertaining to see how the rivalry played out," Robertson told the Daily Telegraph. "We had expectations going into qualifying but we didn't just miss out in the end, we missed out by a long way.

"They fully deserved their place and I have already offered my support to the players and coaches in the build-up to the Games."

Robertson, who is expected to continue working as an ambassador for the sport, stopped playing with men's doubles partner Anthony Clark to focus his efforts on Olympic selection for the mixed doubles.

"I have no regrets," Robertson said. "I wish I was at London 2012, there's no doubt about that, but I am extremely satisfied with my career and can't be any happier about going into retirement now.

"People say whether I regret partnership decisions, but there was always thought that went into these things. You forget the bad patches quickly as sports people. Right now, I am just thinking about the great moments I had and the people I shared it with."

Badminton England chief executive Adrian Christy said: "It is a sad day for the sport as he is arguably our greatest ever player, a one-off, super-talented individual. He is an infectious character and a brilliant role model. Our pool of talented players now need to aspire to his heights."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.