Chloe Magee: ‘You wouldn’t do it if you didn’t enjoy it’

She's only 27 but badminton professional Chloe Magee, from Raphoe in Co Donegal, is aiming to qualify for her third Olympic Games, having debuted in Beijing when she was just 19 and appearing again in London four years later. Last weekend she edged closer to qualification for Rio when she picked up ranking points at the Polish Open where she reached the quarter-finals. She has five weeks to go before the list of qualifiers is complete.

So how do things stand now in the race for Rio? Well, if the latest rankings were the final ones, I’d be just in – so it’s borderline. I’d like to be a little safer, one more good result and I’d be sure of going.

It's been a hectic spell, then? It has, I'm back in Dublin this week for the first time in six weeks. I haven't seen much of it this year – I'm paying rent just to keep my clothes. Because I'm 50-50 with qualification I've had to play a little bit more, just to try and make my place safer, so it's been a busy time alright.

What's your schedule for the next five weeks? This week I was meant to be in France but I was able to take that out because Poland went well. Next week I go to Finland, then Peru, then there's a week between that and the Europeans, so I'll see if I can take that out too .

Are you sick of the sight of airports? Definitely. There are always delays, there's always something, it's never just go and get there. But that's just part of it, we're all in the same boat. You keep going, you get used to it.

Funding and winnings-wise, are you able to fully focus on your sport? More or less, I'll always pick up a little bit of prize money here and there, so I'm full time at the minute, I can live fine off that and my funding. I'm funded by the Irish Sports Council and I have one or two sponsors as well. In badminton you'll not ever make huge amounts of money, but you'll make enough to get by when you're playing. But when you finish you'll definitely have to work, it's not going to make you millions!

Going back to Beijing, were you able to take it all in or was it all a bit of a blur? It was, really. I just didn't expect to qualify at all, I was shocked when I did. I'd only started training properly about a year and a half before. I finished my Leaving and went to Sweden to train full-time with a coach over there. But we were never aiming for Beijing, that wasn't in the plans, but the results just worked out, things went my way. It was weird. But London was completely different – I'd prepared to be there, planned to be there, trained to be there. It's just the best experience of your life, I can't even explain it. London, for me, was unbelievable, I just didn't want it to end. Everything was so good about it, having family there, you could go out, you didn't have to worry about anything. I think it'll be very hard for Rio to top that.

And it's a rare enough experience for you, to be part of a big set-up like that. Your life on the badminton circuit, is it a lonely one at times? It definitely is, but you wouldn't do it if you didn't enjoy it, you definitely wouldn't put yourself through it. You do not have a social life, you just have training, travel and matches. And you're always thinking about training, even on days off – so there's kind of no days off.

At times when it’s going bad it can be the loneliest place in the world, and when it’s going well it can be the best thing ever. The highs are very high, the lows extremely low. So that’s why it’s so important to have a good team of people around you, who you really trust, when things are going bad they’re the people you rely on the most.

Getting home to Donegal after all those stresses must be a joy? I love going back to Donegal, getting away from everything. It's a quiet lifestyle, you can relax, being around my family and friends. It's a different way of life.

From a badminton hall in Raphoe to Beijing, London and – hopefully – Rio? It's been quite a journey. It has. And I love it, despite those lows. If I can make it to Rio, make it to my third Olympics, that would be extra special.