A FORMER University of Portsmouth student has been selected to play badminton for England at the Beijing Olympics.
Andrew Smith, 24, grew up in the city but it was meeting the university's retired director of finance David Hunt that had the biggest impact on him as a sportsman.
Mr Hunt has coached Andrew since he was 11 years old and is himself a former international player and England coach.
The two flew to Jakarta, Indonesia, for the Thomas Cup men's world team finals on Wednesday.
Andrew said: 'Being selected for the Olympics is a big deal. It's a different event to all the others and top seeds can go out in the first round so anything can happen. I'm young for an international player. Twenty-seven is considered the best age, which means I should be at my peak for the London Olympics.'
The full article contains 151 words and appears in NS-City newspaper.
