Nicky Hunt, who works for Suffolk Community Healthcare (SCH), won the gold medal for England alongside teammates Nichola Simpson and Andrea Gales during the Commonwealth Games test event. Held in India, the event was designed as a “trial run” to ensure all of the correct arrangements have been put in place before the main Games begin in October.

Nicky, who is based at Stow Lodge in Stowmarket and is a member of the Deben Archery Club, now has her sights firmly set on qualifying to represent her country at the main event later this year. She will find out if she has been selected during a shoot in the summer, where her performances from during the past 12 months will also be taken into account.

“I was absolutely delighted to pick up a gold medal alongside my teammates,” said Nicky, who took up archery 14 years ago when she was aged just 11, and has been representing her country for the past four years.

“I just hope that we can repeat the performance in the main Games later this year. I’m pretty confident that, all being well, I’ll qualify, which would be absolutely fantastic as it is a real honour to be chosen to represent your country.”

Nicky has already competed in a variety of World Cup events, and has travelled as far afield as Australia, Croatia, Turkey, France and Italy. She juggles competing with working full time, and fits in three to four hours of training every night after finishing her physiotherapy job.

“Working full time while training hard really isn’t easy,” she added. “I go straight from work to shoot, and train six days a week.

“But I’ve been really lucky as Suffolk Community Healthcare has been fantastic, and is always willing to accommodate my requests for unpaid leave when I go to an event. On top of that, all of my colleagues are hugely supportive, which I really appreciate as it helps spur me on when I’m competing away from home.”

John Such, chief operating officer with SCH, said: “We always do our best to support members of staff who have commitments outside of work, and are really pleased that Nicky has done so well.

“We’ll all have our finger’s crossed that she qualifies for the England team during the summer and hope that she’ll have a gold medal around her neck when we welcome her back from the main Commonwealth Games later this year.”

As Nicky funds the vast majority of her trips herself, she is keen to hear from anyone who may be interested in sponsoring her. For more information or to arrange a discussion, please email [email protected]

Suffolk Community Healthcare is responsible for providing services in the Suffolk area, excluding Waveney, and is hosted by NHS Suffolk, the county’s primary care trust.

For more information visit www.suffolk.nhs.uk