Southampton shuttler Michael Pang hopes the increased hours on court will pay dividends at the World Junior Badminton Championships in September. 

The 17-year-old is midway through his A-Levels but has upped his training time with the help of extra funding from SportsAid with the hope of playing full-time after his exams in the summer. 

Pang enjoyed a fruitful first year as a junior and now has his eyes firmly fixed on another strong year before stepping up into the senior ranks. 

“There have been quite a lot of international tournaments recently and then a lot of training,” said Pang, who is funded by a partnership between SportsAid and Girdlers Livery.

“The last year’s funding has done a lot as I have increased my training quite a lot. 

“It has helped me improve a bit more technically and physically. I have improved a lot physically on court because of the increased hours. The base is good, it’s just working on improving the small things to be as good as possible. 

“This year I want to get a good result at the Worlds. Last year was just for experience but this year I am working towards trying to get the best results. 

“It is definitely hard but I am able to keep up a bit more than last year. I feel like I am catching up. 

“There are a few other tournaments on the way that I am hoping to do well in but the world juniors is the big one for me as this year is my last year of juniors.” 

SportsAid Week is an annual initiative which was launched in 2016, with this year’s event taking place from Monday 6 March to Sunday 12 March.

This year’s theme focused on ‘Accessibility and Inclusion’ as the charity shines a spotlight on the country’s most talented young athletes and celebrates the incredible work being undertaken by its partners to support the future of British sport.

Pang recently competed at the YONEX German Junior tournament in March as well as competing at a senior international in Estonia. 

It is all packed in alongside the demanding trio of maths, physics, economics at A-Level, but the Southampton star insists he still has enough time to cram everything in with time to spare. 

“Exams are close but it’s okay. I still have some spare time,” added Pang, who is supported by SportsAid and commercial partner Girdlers Livery.

“I just need to get through these few months. 

“After my A-Levels I might be going up to the National Centre in Milton Keynes to go there full-time, but it’s not confirmed yet.” 

SportsAid Week 2023 took place from Monday 6 March to Sunday 12 March and was a dedicated week of fun and awareness-raising based around theme of accessibility and inclusion. Please visit www.sportsaid.org.uk