Rajiv Ouseph

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.

I'm lucky in that I can't see myself doing an office job every day. I'm lucky that I can play my sport and go around the world without too much to worry about outside that. I think it's good to be happy with what you're doing.

In our sport, there's only two people, so if you're not winning, then you're losing.

I've got quite a good poker face. I'm known for being able to keep my emotions very much in check: no one knows how I'm feeling. I can be winning or losing but keep it very much the same.

I was quite short and chubby until I was 14, when I shot up.

What we do is nothing like the portrayal of badminton as a gentle game played in a church hall. Badminton can be fun and relaxing, but as professionals, this sport is our heart and soul and passion, and our games are fast and aggressive.

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.

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 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.

Obviously, you need talent to do well in your sport, but I think hard work goes a long way. You need to be lucky within the sport too, though. In badminton, you can benefit from good draws and people getting injured.

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.