Alex Dunn and Adam Hall were given an enticing opener to the European Championships when the draw was made for the competition later this month.
They will face off against the Netherlands’ Jelle Maas and Robin Tabeling in the first round, a pair they have never previously come across together, although Hall and then partner Peter Mills defeated them in the semi-finals of the Scottish Open in 2016.
The two duos are separated by just seven places in the rankings, with the Scottish pair a few places below in 49th, ahead of a match that has the potential to go all the way when the tournament gets underway in Huelva, Spain on April 24.
Get beyond that challenge and Dunn and Hall will have an even more intriguing proposition awaiting them, with top seeds Mathias Boe and Carsten Mogensen likely to be their second-round opponents.
Kirsty Gilmour will also compete in Spain and has received a bye into the second round of the women’s singles.
The Scottish No.1 has picked up a silver medal in each of her last two appearances at the competition, with Carolina Marin the one to pip her to gold on both occasions.
As second seed, Gilmour will only meet tournament and home favourite Marin should both get to the final, with the Scot’s first opponent yet to be determined.
Either Dane Mette Poulsen or Norway’s Elisa Wiborg will be on the opposite side of the net in the second round, with the former a constant presence inside the world’s top-50 over the past 12 months.
Badminton Scotland chief executive Anne Smillie said: “Once the Commonwealth Games conclude the excitement continues for Scottish badminton with the European Championships.
“We’re really looking forward to seeing how all three do, with Alex and Adam given exciting but difficult matches early on in their draw which gives them a chance to test themselves against top quality opposition.
“We’ve loved seeing Kirsty perform so well on the European stage in recent years and we very much hope she can match, or perhaps even improve on, her performances from the last two years.”