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| Human Interest | |
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Further Personal Information | |
| Higher education | Psychology - Stirling University: Stirling, SCO |
General Interest | |
| Hobbies | Spending time with friends, shopping, going out, listening to music, cooking and watching films. (badmintonscotland.org.uk, 21 Feb 2012; championsinschools.com, 09 May 2012) |
| Injuries | In September 2011 she suffered a serious knee injury during the quarterfinals of the Brazil Open in São Paulo. She had an operation in early October and spent four weeks on crutches and eight weeks in rehab before returning to competition at the Korea Open in January 2012. (bbc.co.uk, 04 Jan 2012; heraldscotland.com, 05 May 2012) |
| Memorable sporting achievement | Winning singles bronze at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. (championsinschools.com, 09 May 2012) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Why this sport? | After trying various sports she realised that she liked badminton the most. |
General Interest | |
| Most influential person in career | Coaches Alan Mcllvain and Dan Travers. (Athlete, 22 Mar 2002; championsinschools.com, 09 May 2012) |
| Hero / Idol | China's double Olympic badminton singles champion Zhang Ning, Denmark's Olympic medallist and former world singles champion Camilla Martin, and Northern Ireland football manager Martin O'Neill. (Athlete, 22 Mar 2002; badmintonscotland.org.uk, 21 Feb 2012; championsinschools.com, 09 May 2012) |
| Ambitions | To compete at the 2012 London Olympic Games in London. (championsinschools.com, 09 May 2012) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Name of coach | Yvette Yun Luo, John Quinn |
| Handedness | Right |
| Training Regime | She trains twice a day, five days a week. |
| When and where did you begin this sport? | She took up the sport while at primary school at age nine. |
International Debut | |
| Year | 2000 |
| Competing for | Scotland |
| Tournament | Uber Cup |
Further Personal Information | |
| Occupation | Athlete |
General Interest | |
| Other information | POLITICS AND SPORT In February 2012 she spoke of fears the 2014 Commonwealth Games in her hometown of Glasgow, Scotland would be marred by political point-scoring as it's scheduled to happen just weeks before the Scottish National Party [SNP] intend to hold a referendum on the issue of independence from the United Kingdom. "I don't think it is ideal when politics and sport mix," she said. "Sport is a totally separate thing and the Commonwealth Games is such a huge thing in its own right. This is the biggest event that Scotland can hold, so it would be a shame if it was overshadowed by the politics." (bbc.co.uk, 05 Feb 2012) FUNDING CUT She suffered a funding cut during her 2012 London Olympic Games preparation after refusing to move from her Glasgow base in Scotland to the British team's Milton Keynes base, more than 450km south in England. She was told that staying in Scotland would make her uncompetitive and that her funding was dependent upon moving to Milton Keynes and beating a top-four player. She described the decision as "out of order" and accused officials of protecting their own interests and investments in Milton Keynes. "They don't want anywhere else becoming a rival," she said. "I don't regret the decision not to move to Milton Keynes. There's more to life than badminton. I'm really happy in Scotland and being happy in life is the key to playing well. If you're miserable you're not going to be focused when you play. Can you imagine me living away from all my friends and family, wondering what to do in the evenings? I'd be a wreck and my badminton would suffer." (scotsman.com, 20 Nov 2011; inthewinningzone.com, 09 May 2012) LIFE AFTER BADMINTON She loves life as a badminton player and isn't looking forward to the day when she has to retire. "I will never have another job in my life that I'll enjoy as much as playing badminton," she said. "I have never had a proper job, but I know when I have to get one, it will be pretty shit. Sooner or later, the real world will knock on my door, unfortunately." (heraldscotland.com, 05 May 2012) |
Further Personal Information | |
| Family | Husband Dylan. |
| Other names | Susan Hughes |