It's just the start for Telford's Jess Pugh

After making a name for herself on the domestic scene, former Carlton School pupil Pugh started competing in senior international tournaments.

It came for the first time last year, winning the 2014 YONEX Hungarian International mixed doubles title in the process.

She continued to dominate the junior rankings too, becoming European Under-17 mixed doubles champion while this year she won European mixed doubles gold and team silver.

She was also picked to take part in the inaugural National Badminton League.

Her performances for Milton Keynes Badminton caught the eye of rivals University of Nottingham who swooped for her services this summer.

Action gets underway for the team in the NBL on November 2 although Pugh will also be concentrating her efforts on the World Junior Badminton Championships in Peru – an event she hopes to star in.

She said: "I'd never played a senior tournament before last season, but my mixed partner and I won a tournament in Hungary and that gave us the confidence that we belonged at this level.

"That early win was really important to us in that sense, and that's what we try to remember.

"Even the lower level tournaments this year will be full of people trying to qualify for the Olympics, so this is a year for development and we've just got to stick at it.

"I got into badminton because my brother played quite competitively, and I just wanted to beat him.

"I used to cry every time I lost, and it sort of made me realise that this was what I wanted to do, to go on and play professionally.

"Everyone in badminton knows that now, so I've got that emotional reputation and I'm so passionate about badminton.

"I've got World Junior Badminton Championships in Peru which are a big goal for me."

While Pugh's former side failed to make it through to the inaugural NBL Finals Day, she still managed to put in a number of impressive performances in the regular season.

With the Sky Sports cameras broadcasting certain games live, plus packed crowds watching, Pugh admitted she had loved every minute.

She added: "The NBL is so different and it's really exciting, because no matter who you're playing against it's always going to be a close game.

"The match really is anybody's and that's what draws the crowds in. Two years ago if you said to me badminton's going to be on Sky next year, I really wouldn't have believed you.

"It's so good for the sport to get all the publicity and hopefully it will just keep increasing.

"When you go abroad even as a squad, you're always an individual, so with the team in NBL, I love being able to be a part of that group, with everyone supporting each other.

"Everyone is behind everyone all the time."

For NBL fixtures, tickets and team news visit nationalbadmintonleague.co.uk or follow us on Twitter @NBL_official.