When Linda Pearcy saw an advert inviting potential players to take up badminton, it changed her life.

Linda was in her late 20s and working at Smiths Industries and, although she hadn’t played any sport since leaving school, she decided to give it a go.

And it turned out to be one of the best things she ever did because she has now been playing the sport for some 35 years, a sport that has taken her all over Europe and beyond.

When she spoke to The Local Answer, the 63-year-old had just returned from Thailand after competing in the World Senior Championships.

And she certainly made her mark in Pattaya as she reached the quarter-finals of the over-60s women’s doubles, and she also competed in the singles and mixed doubles.

“I loved playing in Thailand,” she said. “We played in a big stadium in front of decent crowds. I was on court for six of the eight days.”

It was always likely that the Cheltenham-born former Bishop’s Cleeve school pupil would be good at sport because her dad is Joe Hyde, a legendary Cheltenham Town footballer from the 1950s.

“He was one of the 50s greats,” she said. “He was a centre-half, they used to call him Mallet Head because he was always heading the ball. In those days they played with heavy leather balls.”

Linda’s mum Barbara also liked sport and their enthusiasm soon rubbed off on the young Linda. 

“I played everything at school – netball, hockey, athletics,” she said. “But then I stopped playing sport when I started work. I was about 28 when I started playing badminton.”

Initially she played for De la Bere in Southam Lane – it’s now Ellenborough Park Hotel – and she took to the sport very quickly.

“We played in Division 18 of the Gloucestershire League,” she recalled. “Then I played for Glevum in Brockworth. They were in Division Two and we were promoted to Division One.”

And that was just the start of Linda’s badminton journey because she’s been a major player for Gloucestershire for many years and still is to this day.

She’s played in national tournaments all over the country and has also been a regular at the European Senior Badminton Championships as well as the Worlds.

“I was coached by Barrie Saunders for eight or 10 years from when I was 40,” she said. “He turned me from a club player into a county player, he helped me with my footwork and putting disguise on a shot.”

So what makes a good badminton player?

“You need to be strong to hit the shuttlecock from one end of the court to the other, you need good timing and be able to move well,” said Linda.

“You need to be super fit. It’s a very, very physical game. 

“As you get better and play at a higher level, it gets very difficult to win rallies, you need that something extra.

“You need to move more quickly and the sooner you can play your shot the better.”

Linda’s love of all things badminton – her husband Alistair is chairman of the Gloucestershire Badminton Association – has been passed on to her sons Cameron and Jamie.

Jamie, who is 26, is ranked in the top 10 in the country and his mum said: “He’s the best player in Gloucestershire.”

The one-time Bristol City academy footballer also coaches badminton at Cheltenham College, while his brother, and is two years older than him, coaches the juniors at Gloucestershire.

Gloucestershire badminton is very important to Linda.

She is still a major player for the county teams and in the past has played alongside former Olympian Nick Ponting.

“I played with him for a season, I was very honoured,” said Linda, who lives in Gotherington. “He’s a very good player. He won the All England mixed doubles title with Jo Goode – that’s like winning at Wimbledon.”

Playing with Ponting was a great experience for Linda, of course, and over the years she’s also had some very good experiences in the European Championships with Mandy Joiner and Phil Richardson, who are both Gloucestershire players.

“I’ve won three bronze medals – twice in the ladies’ doubles with Mandy and once in the mixed doubles with Phil,” said Linda, who these days plays her club badminton at Dean Close School for Severnside in Division One of the Gloucestershire League.

Both Joiner and Richardson have been stalwart players for Gloucestershire who have been crowned Masters champions on several occasions.

“I’m very proud that we’ve been county champions quite a few times,” said Linda. 

“I played for many years in the Masters mixed doubles with Mike Haywood, who has been an excellent senior county player for many years.

“My partnerships with Mike and Mandy contributed big-time to Gloucestershire winning the Masters National Championships on numerous occasions.

“I’ve had so many highlights over the years. I love winning games, it’s great when it all come together.”