WHILE Walton-on-Thames badminton youngster Toby Penty will be no more than a spectator at London 2012, the 19-year-old insists the last thing he’ll be doing is wasting the opportunity of a home Games.

2011 has been a year of transition for Penty as he bids to make the step up from the junior to senior England badminton ranks.

The former Halliford School pupil has taken to the challenge like a moth to a flame, most notably making his way to the World Championship second round as a wildcard entry, just a few months after joining the senior ranks full time.

To continue his precocious rise Penty needs to bag himself some precious world ranking points on the ultra-competitive badminton circuit.

And with the world’s best expected to take a breather post-2012, Penty believes he’s spotted a golden opportunity to leap up the rankings, a chance he doesn’t plan on wasting.

"This year has been more of a learning experience playing in the seniors full-time for the first year"” said Penty.

"I really feel like I have learned a lot but also that I have produced some good results and improved a lot.

"Winning my first round game at the World Championships in such a big arena gave me a lot of confidence and I feel like I am really playing well.

"London 2012 will be very inspirational and the plan is to play a lot of tournaments immediately after the Games to try and get my world ranking down to maybe somewhere in the top 75.

"Quite a lot of people won’t be playing at that time of year and if I can get some good results there it will stand me in good stead to try and get to be part of the England squad full time.

"That is the goal and with the way I have improved this year I am confident I can do it."

Top of the agenda prior to Penty’s opportunistic Olympic plan is February’s English National Championships – with back-to-back singles quarter-final appearances to his name Penty is well established among the country’s elite.

However, with that carrot of a permanent squad berth – Penty currently trains full time in Wimbledon while the full team are based in Milton Keynes – dangling frustratingly close he plans on pulling out all the stops between now and the national showdown.

"I am improving a lot but what I need to do now is to improve my strength a little bit by spending more time in the gym," he added.

"Strength is so much more important in the senior game because you need that bit more power as well as speed and being able to last for longer rallies.

"So if I can spend a bit more time in the gym then hopefully I can be in contention for a semi-final spot at the nationals next year."

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