SHOULD Fliss Pickard return from Gold Coast with a medal around her neck there is only one place she wants to show it off - Padiham Football Club!

The para table tennis player from Burnley is an avid Storks fan and when she is not playing or training she is supporting her local side.

“I am a massive Padiham football fan, I am a regular with my dad,” said the 23-year-old. “It is just another way to get away from table tennis because obviously you need that balance. I really enjoy it.

“They all know me down there, they are all fully supportive of what I am doing. They even save me a car parking space every week!

“It would be great to one day go down there and show off a medal I have won.”

The Commonwealth Games will be Pickard’s first major championships. It will also be her first trip Down Under, a journey she thought she would never get the chance to make.

“I have been in and out of the sport and I came into it really late,” said Pickard, who turned to table tennis after trying horse riding, boccia and swimming. “I never expected to get this far but I have worked really hard.

“I am really proud. Looking back on my journey from a few years ago I never would have expected to be in this position.

“If you had said I was going to the Commonwealth Games in Australia two or three years ago I would have laughed.”

Pickard will be flying solo to Australia and she intends to make the most of the experience.

“It is always somewhere where I wanted to go but never thought I would get the opportunity,” added Pickard, who is supported by Pendle Leisure, who allow her free use of facilities.

“My parents aren’t coming out to this but, with it being my first major, the coach says I should just go and enjoy the experience - and anyway, there would be very limited time to see them as I would be in the athletes village.”