Marcus Ellis returned from the Gold Coast with a full set of Commonwealth Games medals and now heads to Birmingham solely focused on winning the gold for his mixed doubles partner Lauren Smith.
Smith, Ellis’ partner on and off the court, has won five Commonwealth Games medals including three in Australia four years ago but has never stood on the top step of the podium.
And Ellis hopes the pair have a similar Games experience this time instead of the wildly contrasting emotions four years ago.
“I want to do it for her as much as I do for myself,” the 32-year-old said.
“I came away from the Gold Coast very, very happy. I felt like I’d done the best I could and I was happy with what we achieved.
“Lauren obviously came away with two silvers and I can’t even imagine how it must have felt. I still remember how disappointed she was.
“For me, it was really really sad because that was one of the best memories and weeks of my career and it ended up being quite emotional for her.
“I really want to do it for her as much as I do for myself but I’m not going to put any more pressure on myself, I’ve got enough of that already.
“I’d really like to go out there and get the gold and at the moment there’s nothing else in my mind other than that.”
While Ellis is far from done with the racquet, he has also turned his hand to coaching, working with Smith and her then-women’s doubles partner Chloe Birch during the Indonesia leg of the BWF World Tour.
And Ellis says it has provided him with a new perspective to take into his own game.
He added: “When you are coaching, you see the sport so simply and clearly. When you’re caught up in the moment you’re just doing your thing and everything gets quite confused as a player.
“But when you go into the coaching seat and you see it from outside, all of a sudden everything is just crystal clear and I do think that can help you as a player.
“If you can take on that thinking you don’t even have to coach sometimes but I think just having that mindset when you’re watching a match is an incredibly good tool for learning.
“You can actually implement some of that whilst you’re still playing rather than just saying ‘now I’m an athlete’, ‘now I’m a coach’, I think it could be hugely beneficial.
