HOLLY LAM-MOORES waved goodbye to London 2012 on Sunday with an impassioned plea to sporting big-wigs to make sure her legacy is not wasted.

With a crippling funding cut to Handball in 2008, Lam-Moores and the GB team had to scrimp and save their way to their London 2012 experience – travelling all over the continent to enhance their skills.

That journey ended in disappointment on the field yesterday as yet another handball powerhouse gave Lam-Moores and co. a further lesson – going down 37-14 to Croatia.

That result – their fifth defeat – meant they failed to qualify out of Group A and left Lam-Moores to issue her emotional plea to the big-wigs holding the sporting purse strings.

London 2012 has witnessed unparalleled investment in sport with teams like handball created from near-nothing in order to fill host-nation spots at the Games.

With the Games moving on to Rio the expectation is that minority sports might be living on borrowed time, but not if Lam-Moores has her way.

“Six thousand, five hundred people were watching us against Croatia and they have for every game we have played and they have gone wild for every game,” she said.

“Why would you waste something so powerful as that?

“I can’t understand why anybody would waste that. Handball is a fantastic sport and I really think if it doesn’t get the funding then it will be stupid.

“I think this should be the start of something special. We have worked hard for six years but in handball terms we have just learned to walk.

“If we get funding then by the time Rio comes round or 2020 then we can be running and challenging the best teams in the world.”

Holly Lam-Moores is a Lloyds TSB Local Hero and member of Team GB. Lloyds TSB is proud partner of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and supporter of Team GB on their journey to London 2012. lloydstsb.com/london2012