Prove them Wrong, Zoe, in London 2012!

Zoe Smith is the kind of girl who leaves an immediate impact when you meet her, and that's even before you know what she has achieved in her fledgling sporting career.

The 16-year-old is, of course, our golden hope in weight-lifting, not exactly a sport in which this country has a long and successful tradition in when it comes to the multi events of the Olympics and the Commonwealth Games, but it was in Delhi in October that Zoe, having already dealt with GCSE's during the summer, grabbed bronze for England.

It was, by anyone's verdict, an outstanding achievement and one that bodes well for London, 2012, when she will still be only 18 years old, but with two more years experience under her belt. British Weight-lifting has, in its wisdom, decided to suspend her £6,000 annual funding however, on the grounds that she is not "committed to following a structured training programme" or ensuring she stabilised her bodyweight.

That's gratitude for you, isn't it? That's like the LTA suspending Andy Murray for being overweight, another sporting body with little history of home-grown success but who has, through little effort from them, a gem of a star in their wake.

I was hugely impressed by Zoe when I met her last Spring. She is bright, lively, polite and determined. In short, she is a credit to her family and her sport. My advice to her is this: keep on going, prove them wrong, be even more successful, and remember your friends when everyone suddenly wants to shake your hand.