Jess Pugh is expecting to step up her game when she challenges for the mixed doubles title at the YONEX All England Badminton Championships.

Pugh, 21, will take to the court at Arena Birmingham alongside Ben Lane, as she competes at her sport’s oldest tournament for the third time in her fledgling career.

They have already shown good form at the Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia Masters in 2019 and are coming off a long training block ahead of the event in the Midlands.

The former European junior champion said: “It’s one of the highlights of the year playing in the All England so I am really excited.

“We just came back from some tournaments over in Asia. We competed really well, me and Ben have just been through a big training block so we are improving a lot.

“It will be really good to compete and see where we are at out there in Birmingham.

“We have three mixed pairs in the main draw at the All England so in the mixed doubles it’s very strong at the moment. We have people winning medals all across the tour.”

Pugh and her English team-mates certainly have strength in depth, with the squad including Olympic bronze medallists Chris Langridge and Marcus Ellis and former world bronze medallist Chris and Gabby Adcock.

But the Shropshire athlete and her partner Lane, who have a world tour ranking of seven, continued to progress in 2019 with their best performances including the semi-finals of the US Open and the Swiss Open.

They also helped England to success in the mixed team event at the Commonwealth Games, taking home a bronze medal on the Gold Coast last April.

Now Pugh and Lane are hoping for some success on home soil, especially as no Brits has won at the event in over a decade.

“The YONEX All England always brings a buzz – there are fans from across the world coming with a lot of loud noise and good entertainment,” added Pugh.

“It’s an amazing chance to play in front of home fans. We don’t get it very often, only one tournament in England is on the world tour.

“They get more than 30,000 people to watch so it’s amazing to get some home support.

“We are used to going to Asia and playing against all these big crowds supporting against us so it’s really nice to have everyone behind us. It makes a big difference and really spurs you on.

“There are a lot more people watching in the crowds and the whole set up and organisation is amazing. You really feel like you’re at big, important and prestigious event.”

The 2019 YONEX All England – Badminton’s Greatest Show on the sport’s world tour – will wow fans at Arena Birmingham, 6-10 March. For tickets and information: www.allenglandbadminton.com or search All England tickets