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Olympic aim

Dave Lawrenson
22/ 2/2007

WALKDEN badminton ace John Davenport is dreaming of representing Great Britain in the 2012 London Olympics having made massive strides of progress during a five-month training holiday in China.

Regularly playing with Chinese youth internationals has lifted the 22-year-old to new heights.

He is having his best ever season, winning the Hull and Deganway opens and reaching the final of the Wrexham and Cambridgeshire opens.

Davenport said: "Going to China has made me a better player. I'm now beating guys that I couldn't even get near to last season. I'm 45th in Great Britain now and my aim is to keep on progressing like I have been doing and try to get into the top 10. But the ultimate goal would be to compete in the Olympics. That would be a dream come true. It's not going to be easy but if I keep on working hard then who knows?"

Davenport has been playing badminton since the age of 10 and his commitment to the sport cannot be questioned. As part of his year off from a chemistry degree course at Manchester Met, an average day sees him work between four hours from 6.30am and between three and four hours from 4pm.

But that does not stop him from cramming in four-and-a-half hours of badminton training. He works on his game at David Lloyd Leisure Centre at Trafford Park between 11am and 3.30pm. And his dedication has paid off in the form of promotion to the Lancashire county second team.

Davenport said: "Getting into the Lancashire county second team is a good achievement as there are so many quality players in Lancashire."

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