If I'd had the chance, I'd like to have completed my degree before going full-time, and sports journalism was something that always interested me. Dad used to buy a paper, and I always turned straight to the sports pages.

I've always wanted to be in journalism. I even started a course at Loughborough doing media studies. I like all sports, and I am keen on writing. But I thought that while I was still young, I ought to make a real go of it at badminton. So I have put all my focus on playing sport instead of writing about it.

I think badminton has a real legacy with more youngsters taking up the sport. Badminton has done really well in that regard compared to other sports.

Because my parents are Indian, everybody speaks Hindi to me, and I have no idea what they are saying.

There can be a lot of mind games going on between the players. When you're about to serve, people will try to throw you off your rhythm by taking a walk. If you're tired, you can't show that at all to an opponent.

Some smashes have been timed at more than 250 mph, so you get less than a second to react. People who see a professional badminton match up close are always shocked at the speed.