Donegal badminton star Rachael Darragh will compete in the Olympic Games this summer in Paris.
It was an anxious few weeks for Darragh as she was 34th on the ranking list when it was announced a fortnight ago.
It was known that 38 players would make the cut but it was still a wait until her name was confirmed.
She was eventually informed by her uncle Dan Magee (Badminton Ireland’s High Performance Director) while on holiday in Portugal.
“I didn’t know what to expect,” said the 26-year-old.
“I think I told my parents, ‘I’m in the pits of despair, I don’t think I qualified’.
“I had experienced every emotion under the sun in those two weeks.
“I’d had a really good year, ticked off a lot of boxes, and to do everything I’d written down on paper and still to be on the very, very edge… it was a very difficult year for women’s singles.
“There’s not a lot of extra spots, as there had been in other years. It was a tough wait.
“Then to get that call from the high performance director on Friday, I was like, ‘is it real, am I actually going to the Olympics?’. It was definitely a rollercoaster of emotions the last couple of weeks.”
Receive quality journalism wherever you are, on any device. Keep up to date from the comfort of your own home with a digital subscription.
Any time | Any place | Anywhere
SUBSCRIBE TO CURRENT EDITION TODAY
and get access to our archive editions dating back to 2007(CLICK ON THE TITLE BELOW TO SUBSCRIBE)