IPSWICH handball star Louise Jukes will today travel to Montenegro as her London 2012 Olympic dreams gather pace.

Jukes and the Great Britain side face a stern test in their opening group match of the European Championship qualifiers before a home match on Saturday against three-time world champions Russia.

Montenegro have one of the best players in the world in Bojana Popovic, a five-times Champions League winner and top scorer in 2004, 2005 and 2007.

Jukes said: “Our group is particularly tough with Poland later in the year. Considering the GB team has only been formed in the last four years, this is going to be a huge challenge and a tough ask for us.

“But we are determined to give it our best and it will show how far we have come in a short time.”