The 20-year-old Surrey Smashers star spent nearly an hour answering budding journalists’ questions at the University’s Luton Campus.

Olympic-hopeful Tom visited the University with BADMINTON England spokesperson Emma Bird, a Bedfordshire alumnus who previously worked for Sky Sports.

Joe Shine, a second-year Sports Journalism student, said the interview was a ‘great opportunity’.

The 19-year-old added: “It was fantastic to meet a great talent and a future Olympian. He was very modest and it made me very hopeful for the future of British Badminton.”

The interview formed part of the LutonBlog initiative, a website run by Bedfordshire Journalism students, in partnership with the Luton News and Luton Herald & Post. So far, the undergraduates have claimed the scalps of the likes of Luton Town pair Paul Benson and Charlie Walker.

Liverpudlian Tom expressed the importance of being interviewed by the students:

“I like any opportunity to be interviewed,” he said. “It doesn’t happen too often for us badminton players.

“Any opportunities to be interviewed and to talk in front of people are definitely good.”

Tom revealed to the young reporters that he came close to quitting the sport earlier this year. Having taken a short break from the game, he now feels revitalised.

“I actually thought about it [quitting] earlier this year,” he said. “It goes through everyone’s mind.

“I took a two-month break just to reassess, which gave me more hunger and more motivation.”

Ranked 115^th in the world alongside doubles partner Marcus Ellis, Tom told the students he aims to represent Team GB at the Olympics.

“The next Olympics in Rio is a bit too soon for me,” he admitted. “I’d have to get a little bit better to go to Rio, but who knows.

“My main target is 2020 [in Tokyo] because I’ll be 26 then, so I should be almost at my peak.”

Written in conjunction with Bedfordshire student Stephen Matthews.