Age 20
Weight 65kg
Height 1.73m
2008 Olympic record
Earned a reserve place in the women’s singles.
Target for 2012
“I would like the team to get to the quarter- finals … For the singles, one of us will qualify automatically, but I want to make sure I qualify on merit.”
I used to live in Leamington but now I train at Sheffield EIS, so I don’t see my friends as much. When I do go home my face is in the local paper and people in the local shops recognise me, which is a bit embarrassing.
I started playing table tennis when I was eight years old because mymum used to play [Lynn Sibley was a county champion]. Mum trained at the local club in Leamington. I caught the bug from her. I also used to play football at school: I’m really passionate about sport. If I hadn’t taken up table tennis I would probably have done sport science or sport physio at university.
I still get nervous before a match, but that’s a good thing because it means I still have passion for it. I have a lucky shirt: it’s red and black and it was the T-shirt I wore when I won my first national championship.
My typical week
Monday
I start at 8.45 every morning with 45 minutes of core stability training: we twist a lot while we play so we need to have a strong core. At 9.30am, the team has table tennis training until midday. This is followed by one hour of physical training, which includes long-distance running and sprinting (10 sets of 30m in the gym or on the track). We practise long-distance because we need endurance in our legs and we sprint because our legs have to be up to short, sharp plays. We also do weightlifting for leg and upper-body strength, as well as bench presses and dumbbells in the gym. Practice starts again from 4–7pm.
Tuesday
I have speed and agility training at 8.45am. Speed training is similar to what footballers do – lots of cone work and drills to develop our footwork skills. We side step cones and the ladders, as well as hop and jump over small hurdles.
Wednesday
Core stability training followed by table tennis training with the team. Then physical training followed by a break, starting again at 4pm.
Thursday
Similar to Tuesday – I start with speed and agility training, followed by some footwork drills.
Friday
As above.
Saturday and Sunday
Rest days.
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