Emily Bates is the youngest player to be selected in the Olympic Long List but she hopes that her age will count to her advantage.

Emily has a great record in the junior and cadet ranks, winning over 20 national titles on her way through the system. One of her greatest tournaments, however, was played abroad in Sweden when she won the singles event in Safir by beating Ekaterina Guseva (world number 297) in the final 3-0.

She was recently called up for her senior England debut at the INTERSPORT European Championships in Gdansk-Sopot, Poland.

Name:

Emily Bates

Date of birth:

04/11/95

Club:

Grantham Tornadoes

Who are you?

Number one in England under 18s and number seven in England seniors.

Proudest moment?

Winning an international event at 12 years old by beating my Russian opponent 3-0.

When/how did you get involved with table tennis?

In 2004 I watched my brother playing and I wanted to get involved and I wanted to be better than him.

What does the Olympics mean to you?

It means everything – it is the home of sport and for it to be my home too would be amazing.

Social media:

Facebook and Twitter.