Jessica Pugh becoming queen of the badminton court

Shropshire's soaring badminton star Jessica Pugh is set to play in her first senior international tournament next week.

The 14-year-old is heading for Cardiff to play in the Yonex Welsh International as she continues to prove her credentials as a serious competitor on the junior and now the senior circuit.

Jessica, a pupil at Wellington's Charlton School, beat some of the best juniors in the country by taking yet another doubles title at the under-17 Gold Badminton England tournament in Loughborough earlier this month.

The weekend before that she had moved up another level to test herself against the seniors, reaching the semi-finals of the under-19 International Tournament in Northumberland.

And most recently she emerged from 13 hours of action at the Gloucester Senior Silver event with her reputation further enhanced by a first senior crown.

She played her first match at 9am in round one of the mixed event with her brother Jamie Pugh, eventually narrowly missing out on a final spot after losing in three sets to the No 2 seeds.

In the singles Jessica powered into the semi-finals to face Jordan Hart, and No 1 junior Welsh International.

But the Shropshire girl's agility and speed on the court was too much for the Welsh star.

The followed a polished performance in the final to beat Staffordshire's Zoe Hallam in two straight sets to take home the prizemoney and her first senior singles title.

Jessica ended her day at 11pm by reaching the final of the doubles event with her scratch partner and England team-mate Brodie Miller.