Mixed start for GB

In a match watched by Prince Charles at Wembley Arena, the Scot, ranked 38, overpowered the world number 89 21-15 21-10 in just 34 minutes.

It was a perfect Olympic debut for 29-year-old Egelstaff, who missed four months of the qualifying campaign with a serious leg injury.

She now has three days to prepare for her second match in Group H against 12th seed Sayaka Sato of Japan on Tuesday.

Egelstaff's performance also gave the crowd plenty to cheer at the start of the second session after those present in the morning witnessed defeat for Chris Adcock and Imogen Bankier in the mixed doubles.

Egelstaff, who improved her overall record against Tvrdy to 4-1 in her favour, dominated from the outset.

There were some lengthy rallies early on but her lofted serves helped her establish control.

A run of eight successive points took her into a 19-10 lead and, despite a few unforced errors, then closed out the first game comfortably.

She maintained her dominance in the second game, covering the court superbly.

Egelstaff, 29, feared she would miss the Olympics after shattering her thigh bone last October and was just as pleased to have been playing as she was to have won.

The Glaswegian said: "I was so nervous going on because it was such a big thing but I settled down in the second set and managed to pull away.

"I really enjoyed it. It was an excited kind of nerves.

"It was such a long, hard qualifying campaign and if you are not nervous going into something like this you probably shouldn't be here.

"It's so nice just to be here. It was looking very unlikely a few months ago. It is a really nice feeling to be here and everything is totally fine now."

Egelstaff felt the home crowd also played a role in her victory.

"Quite often when I play nobody is watching," said Egelstaff, who added that she did not want to make herself look silly by curtsying to Prince Charles.

"It makes you concentrate and not give away stupid points.

"I am pleased with the way I played. It was like a foreign environment, such a big competition.

"Training has been going really well but you are never quite sure it is going to come right on the day, so I am really pleased."

Earlier, Adcock and Bankier failed to capitalise on a fine start as they lost their Group A opener 14-21 21-9 21-18 to Russia's Alexandr Nikolaenko and Valeria Sorokina.

The World Championship runners-up dominated the opening game with Adcock continually punishing Nikolaenko's lifts by smashing at Sorokina while Bankier took charge at the net.

Their fast-paced attacking style was well rewarded as they took the opening game in 17 minutes but the Russians changed the tempo to control the second.

Sorokina came to the fore as Bankier faltered and the loss of six successive points early in the game put the Britons on the back foot.

With the momentum lost, the Russians eased away to level the match but Adcock and Bankier recovered their poise in a tight final game.

There was little to separate the two pairs but Adcock and Bankier had the edge until the loss of four straight points turned a 14-12 lead into a 16-14 deficit.

Nikolaenko and Sorokina did not relinquish their lead and went on to wrap up the match in 61 minutes.

Nottingham's Adcock, 23, said: "Obviously we're very disappointed. We came here for a win and we didn't get it.

"But it is a group stage and we know that two wins can still get us to the next stage. That is the positive of the day.

"We started really well and the crowd were brilliant but they adjusted their tactics and we were unable to combat that.

"The third game got a bit scrappy and they came out on top.

"Ideally we wanted to win every game and get off to a good start but now we have to go back, recuperate and prepare for the next two games."

The Anglo-Scottish pair are back in action against Germans Michael Fuchs and Birgit Michels on Sunday with a tough encounter against top seeds Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei on Tuesday.