SIMON Archer is back and has his eyes set on glory.
The Worcester-based badminton ace, a bronze medallist at the last Olympics in Sydney, played his first match for eight months at the weekend when he appeared for Worcestershire in the Inter-County Championships at Milton Keynes.
Having now recovered from serious knee surgery, the 28-year-old has now set his sights on next month's National Championships, the Thomas Cup qualifiers in Eindhoven and European Championships in Malmo, not to mention the Commonwealth Games in July in Manchester.
Archer has reunited with Jo Goode, his mixed doubles partner in Sydney, but has split with regular men's doubles partner Nathan Robertson and has drawn up a short-list of potential pairings.
He said of his recovery: "The knee's feeling pretty good. Give it a month and we'll be pretty much back to normal service although I will have to see how it stands up to a couple of matches a day .
"I've got to get stronger and fitter, then the rest is down to confidence and that will come the more court work I get.
"It's just the beginning. My goals are the World Championships, because Birmingham is near my home in Worcestershire, and the Olympics in Athens. I've won Commonwealth gold and European gold. Now I want world and Olympic golds before I finish.
"Realistically, that is going to come in mixed rather than men's doubles."
Archer admitted he faced a tough choice over his mixed doubles partner. "I had to choose between Jo and Donna Kellogg. Donna's injury problems led me to pick Jo but she has already said she will retire after the World Championships in Birmingham in 2003 and I want to carry on to the Olympics in Athens.
"That's a problem. Maybe if we start winning again she will reconsider."
Former partners Chris Hunt and Graham Hurrell are the most likely options for Archer in the men's doubles.
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