Michelle Kwok-Williams

Sport: Badminton

I owe my love of badminton to my Dad, who is and always will be my first inspiration in the sport.

He taught me to play initially in our back garden, when I was about twelve years old. He was just learning to play himself- a late starter in his early 40s. Our 'court' upgraded to a local church hall and eventually to a leisure centre.

As a teenager, I played for school, a local club, in junior and senior county teams (Middlesex).

I continued to play for university ( Leeds) whilst I was at Medical School. When I qualified as a junior doctor in the NHS, work became the priority-I just didn't have time to continue my sport, despite trying.

My Dad's game continued to flourish, playing national and international Masters tournaments representing England - culminating in a Bronze medal at the Senior World Championships in Open Doubles +55 age group in 2004.

Over 2 decades after I hung up my racquet, my son became interested in badminton. Inevitably, I found my way back on court (thwarted by various injuries) to nurture his interest as a teenager, just as my Dad had done for me. My son is my other inspiration - I now learn more from him than he does from me on court!

It's my privilege to be the Yorkshire masters O55S captain of a wonderful squad. I am truly blessed to have the opportunity to play socially and competitively once again with friends, old and new, through Yorkshire and beyond, balancing my sport with work and family time.

I was lucky enough to be selected to represent England at my first European Senior Championships in Sardinia last week. My partner Gill Anderson (who happens to be another Urbanfield ambassador - Robin Jackson's sister) and I were over the moon to reach the last x16 round in the O55S WD category.

The experience was amazing and has motivated me to aim for the next Europeans in 2028.

It's heartwarming to see how proud my family and friends are of our achievement-no-one more so than my lovely Dad, who was cheering us on from afar.