Woking's Samodani Wijetunge believes her “rollercoaster” last 12 months will help in the rising badminton star’s bid to secure European gold.

Illness contributed to disappointing results at the start of last season but things started to improve for the Guildford High School pupil at the turn of the year.

A quarter-final appearance at a Senior Gold event was followed by the Under-17 English National Championships, where 16-year-old Wijetunge was victorious despite playing a year higher.

The Wimbledon Racquets and Fitness Club member then beat the third seed on her way to the Under-17 6 Nations quarter finals, where her England team won bronze.

Now she is working hard in her bid to be selected for the European Under-17s Championships in Lubin, Poland, in March.

Wijetunge said: “The biggest tournament of the year will be the Under-17 Europeans so I want to get selected for that and then I will be going for a medal."

“Every tournament I play in provides me with some sort of experience. Winning the National Championships gave me a huge amount of confidence and then I was a lot more confident going into the Six Nations events."

“But even with that in mind, if I don’t do so well it does also have a negative effect on me so then it is about picking myself up and trying again.”

Wijetunge was speaking at an SSE Roadshow event at one of the energy company’s offices in Havant, where she took part in several Q&A events with staff.

SSE provides Wijetunge and another 99 of the UK’s brightest sporting talents with funding and support as they look to fulfil their dreams.

Wijetunge added: “I try to take it each year at a time but the long-term goal is to medal at the Olympics and World Championships as well."

“The 2016 Olympics has come too soon for me so I will be hoping to make the 2020 Games and if not, in 2024.”

SSE’s Next Generation programme partners with SportsAid to provide financial support and training to the sports stars of the future. Keep up to date with the latest @SSENextGen