Commonwealth Games 2022: Jersey's Hannah Silcock, 15, on her holiday table tennis inspiration

Intense training during the Covid-19 lockdown helped Silcock improve her game

Most of us have played a bit of table tennis while on holiday, but few of us have used that as a springboard to the international stage.

But Hannah Silcock, Jersey's youngest athlete at this year's Commonwealth Games, has done just that.

The 15-year-old, who is a British junior champion, first picked up a bat while on holiday in Spain eight years ago - around the time Jersey had their first-ever table tennis competitor at Glasgow 2014.

"I enjoyed it quite a lot," she says of her holiday ping-pong games.

"So when we were back in Jersey my grandad took me down to the centre here and I played quite a lot, enjoyed it and kept coming to sessions, and I improved from there.

"I started going to competitions in England when I was about 10 and did quite well compared to other girls my age," she told BBC Radio Jersey.

"I realised that maybe I wanted to get better at it and play at the European level, as I have been."

Silcock has just returned from a tournament in Serbia and has toured the UK and Europe competing on the junior circuit.

"I can't believe where we are eight years later," says her father Paul, who says the ability to practise lots in Jersey during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 helped up her game.

"During lockdown Hannah was doing a lot of table tennis and over that one-year period, when it came to competition, suddenly she went to the UK, competed in women's events and suddenly was beating top 20 women in her first competition.

"At the time she was ranked 297 and within the space of two months she'd suddenly got into the top 20, and we realised that one year of intensive training really put her in the frame for thinking the Commonwealth Games may be a possibility."

Silcock has competed at junior events around the UK and Europe

Hannah does not sit her GCSE's for another year, but is almost ready to experience something many sportspeople never have in their lifetimes.

"She's a very grounded, modest girl," her father adds.

"I think she likes to hide her talent under a bit of a bushel, she doesn't really like to be in the limelight as much.

"She's very calm, very grounded and just seems to take it in her stride."

And it being as close to a home Games as a Jersey sportsperson is ever likely to get has its advantages.

"It is going to mean a lot, I have family from Scotland coming over since it's in Birmingham," Silcock said.

"It's going to be quite good having them there watching me and it'll be exciting on the big stage with everyone watching.

"There'll be a bit of pressure on me, but I think I'll just try my best and hopefully do well."