Jillie Cooper is one of a British sporting generation who are lucky enough to have been offered a huge opportunity - and the 20-year-old Scot is ready to grab it with both hands. It will mean a lot of sacrifices, but she is determined to fulfil her dream and compete for Britain at the London 2012 Olympic Games, and then star on a tartan stage at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

After an impressive season in which she broke the top 50 in the world with Renfrew's Watson Briggs in the mixed doubles, Jillie has already been talent-spotted as a prime candidate for the London Games. As a result, she will now be spending a great deal of time training at the National centre in Milton Keynes.

A self-confessed 'home bird', she admits she would rather be nearer friends and family in Edinburgh. She also taken a turn of direction by shelving her chance to study at Stirling University.
Both decisions show her desire and determination - everything in her life centres around hitting her peak in London's Olympic badminton hall in four years' time.

Before then, she will have a chance to warm-up at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi - and then there will be the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow when, hopefully, she will be a medal favourite.

"I'll be spending as lot of this summer down at Milton Keynes because I've just teamed up with (England's) Mariana Agathangelou in women's doubles. I think it will be really good for my game to get the chance to train with all the top British squad players.

"But I'm hoping that I'll only be down south from Monday to Thursday and then come back to Scotland. I still want to work with Dan Travers (Scotland's High Performance coach) because he has really improved my game.

"And all the back-up facilities that I've received from the Scottish Institute of Sport have also been super. I wouldn't want to lose touch."

Last season, the powerful 5'10" Jillie broke into the top ten in Europe, but her proudest achievement is a rapid rise to No.47 alongside Watson in the world mixed rankings.

"We only teamed up at the start of the season, and the goal was to make the world's top 50," said Jillie. "Now we hope to build on it. The next aim is to win a European title and, next season, we want to make the top 30 in the rankings."

Never afraid to give anything a try, this go-getter first lifted a badminton racket as an eight-year-old pupil at Buckstone Primary in Edinburgh. Her brother was in the school team and there was a lack of older girls to make up the numbers. Jillie volunteered - and showed the first buds of promise by beating the lot.

Junior honours in Scotland and on the European circuit followed, but it is the prospect of making the grade in London that has turned a passionate hobby into a deadly serious career. "I was going to go to Stirling University, but opted out so that I could put badminton first," she explained.

"The fact that London is hosting the Games is huge for me. My whole programme is directed towards 2012 and, over the past year, I've realised how much I want to make it, and I'm willing to make any sacrifice."

Not that she has totally abandoned her studies as she has chosen to pursue an Open University degree in business studies and sports management. But nothing is allowed to interfere with training.

"I've done a lot of work with Dan Travers and Rita Yuan Gao (the Chinese-born Scot) over the past season and my game has come on a great deal," she said.

A sign that the Jillie is attracting attention outside the Scottish confines is that she has been head-hunted by a German Bundusleague team, and will join the set-up next season.

"The team is based in Hamburg and Craig Goddard (the Scottish men's Champion) already plays for them," she explained. "It is a big commitment and will involve going over there for about ten weekends over the season. But it will be great experience, and the money is also quite good."

Over the last year, Jillie has made huge strides. "It was my first season as a senior, and it was quite a tough adjustment. There is a lot more travel and there are no easy games. But I love it. I want to become as good a player as possible, and everything in my life is geared towards London 2012."

With the 2008 Games off and running, Jillie's Olympic countdown is now about to start in earnest.

EB
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