Pocket rocket Jess Pugh taking on the sport’s giants

The Shropshire badminton star will step on court tomorrow when the YONEX All England Championships get under way in Birmingham.

The 21-year-old, competing at her sport’s oldest tournament for the third time in her fledgling career, will again partner Ben Lane in the mixed doubles.

They have already shown good form at the Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia Masters in 2019 and are coming off the back of victory at the English National Championships.

And while 5ft 5in Pugh and 5ft 8in Lane may lack the height of their rivals, Telford ace Pugh believes they work well together.

"At the end of the game when we're shaking hands we're always a lot smaller!" admitted the former European junior champion. "We're the smallest people on the circuit but we play very similar styles.

"I think the fact we have played together for so long helps. Ben's left handed and I'm right handed, which helps us with a lot of set-plays. It helps us trap the opponents.

"We have been playing together since we were about 12 years-old, maybe a bit earlier, so about 10 years.

"When you're younger you play mainly singles and when you get to under-13s there's a mixed doubles event. Ben is from Devon and you meet people at these tournaments.

"At the time we were the best boy and girl and our parents got talking and we got put together in a tournament. We did really well and it's stuck – now we knew each other inside out.

"We've had a lot of experience and played a lot of competitions internationally to handle the pressure.

"When we were younger we used to struggled in those times, but as we've got older and got more experience we've gained composure to do what we need to do."

Among those experiences during the last 12 months was being part of the England team at the Commonwealth Games in Australia.

Pugh and her team-mates returned from the Gold Coast with a bronze medal in the team event.

And while going up against Olympic bronze medallists Chris Langridge and Marcus Ellis and former world bronze medallist Chris and Gabby Adcock means qualifying for the next Olympics is unlikely, Pugh is eager to make her mark on a world stage again.

"The Commonwealth Games was amazing," she added. "It was my first experience of winning a medal at a major world event and it makes you hungry for more.

"Ben and I are still very young, just 21. A lot of the people that are above us are late 20s or early 30s.

"We're still at the beginning of our careers and have a lot to look forward to.

"The Asian players who dominate the sport peak very early in their early 20s, but for Europeans it's more mid to late-20s.

"Asians will start training full-time when they're 14 years-old, whereas we don't start until we're 19 or 20 and we're just behind them a bit.

"It will be hard for us to qualify in the mixed doubles (for the Olympics) because only one pair can qualify.

"We're going to try to build our world ranking as high as possible and hopefully break into the top 20.

"We have won an international event but we haven't won a tournament above that level, so we'll definitely look to win a (Badminton World Federation World Tour) Super 100 over the next year."

For now, it's a tournament closer to home that has the attention of the former Charlton School pupil.

And Pugh is hoping that work in the gym as well as on the court will pay dividends at Arena Birmingham.

“It’s one of the highlights of the year playing in the All England so I am really excited," she added. "Plus I get to spend some time at home and have my family come and watch.

"We are used to going to Asia and playing against all these big crowds supporting against us so it’s really nice to have everyone behind us. It makes a big difference and really spurs you on.

"We're looking to perform well, it's a good opportunity and hopefully we can get a good win under our belt against some of the top players in the world.

"We've got a lot stronger. We've been working a lot in the gym and on court improving our game tactically.

"Winning the nationals will boost our confidence. Added with us getting stronger, I think we will gradually get better and get more wins under our belt.

"Naturally I'm a skill-based player, so the physical side isn't necessarily a big part of my game.

"If I improve the strength part then that will help me get better than I am at the moment.

"It's a lot of strength work in the gym combined with agility and speed work.

"Hopefully I can use my skill but at a higher pace and be quicker to make it harder for my opponents."