At 18 years of age Jordan Hart has already made a name for herself as a terrific badminton player but now she is about to embark on another step in her development as she recovers from a serious ankle injury and has set out on a three-year BSC (Hons) degree in Sports Science at Loughborough University.

It will make a huge difference to Jordan in terms of her badminton because there will be five courts within 50 metres of her hall of residence so that all the weekly travel to train in Cardiff and even further afield will be halted and she will also have a highly-thought of new coach in Mike Andrews, a former England player, who is a lecturer at the college.

“I’ve given him the once-over and he seems good,” said Jordan with typical under-statement, “and training alongside me will be Nana Viano, the No 1 ladies’ player from Finland, and a few promising doubles players from England, so I will have easy access to quality opposition for practice.

“Mike has been at Loughborough for four years and already turned out excellent players like the Malaysian World Junior Champion now ranked in the top ten in the world at senior level.”

As well as being able to work at her speciality in badminton, Jordan will also study physiology, performance, biometrics, psychology, training methods (especially for girls), match analysis methods and lots, lots more.

“I know it is going to be a big challenge alongside my badminton but when I finish playing I want to be a PE teacher so this is also the first step along that road for me. Then there will be the PGCE year and I am also ready to further my studies there when it is necessary.”

It will nicely finish off a frustrating period for Jordan because after playing so long and well to achieve her top ranking for her age group on the UK and in the Welsh Ladies top ten, she suffered a fractured ankle last August. She had played brilliantly over the two previous years and she was building up her ranking points towards selection for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow – and all was going well at a training session where she was in tip-top form. But when she lunged forward to play a shot the floor mat slipped under her and her foot gave way.

Jordan knew straight away that something was wrong and after close inspection it was revealed that she had suffered an ankle fracture and, even worse, torn ankle ligaments. The damage was to cost her four months of training and competition, and every time she tried to play it became even more swollen and painful.

“If I took my shoe off I couldn’t even get it back on,” said Jordan with a rueful chuckle, “and it was made even more frustrating because cortisone injections weren’t much help either.

I was treated fairly slowly and in the final analysis I had to go for treatment privately.

“I went to the Vale Hospital, where the top rugby players go, and fortunately the keyhole surgery has helped me to recover well.

“But even now it is frustrating because I am spending a lot of time working my way back to fitness and there is little chance yet to play competitively, which is what I am aching to do!”

But Jordan is lucky to have the total support of her parents Mandy and Derek, who have encouraged her all the way, even to the costs of the operation, because they knew how important it is to their daughter. Jordan says that her sister Lowrie is already ranked at No 1 in the Welsh badminton under 11s category and doubles up as a very good young athlete, running the 800 metres with the Pembrokeshire Harriers.

So when will Jordan be able to compete at the top level again?

“My first challenges are the English, Welsh, Irish and then Scottish senior open championships and I hope to play in all of those as my first step to playing in the Commonwealth Games. This will be followed hopefully by entry in the Swedish, Belgian and Danish open events, with entry via the ‘medal hope’ route if she can’t rebuild her points total quickly enough.

Not content with that aim, Jordan is also looking ahead to the Rio Olympics and despite her injury she is still ranked fifth in the UK at senior level.

“I know how much hard work lies ahead but I am up for the challenge,” said Jordan. “I’m confident that setting out at Loughborough College is the next step in my badminton development and I can’t wait to get started.

“I want that No 1 singles spot and I know I can do it now that I am fit again.”

Jordan Hart is a determined young lady who has settled in really well in Loughborough and getting back towards real match fitness. Just chat to her for a short while and she’ll convince you of her dedication and determination – as she did us at the Western Telegraph!