Former Team GB star Sam Quek has hit back at critics after receiving a negative response to the news she will join the ITV Racing team for this year's Grand National. The 36-year-old, who won gold with the GB women's hockey team at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, has moved into broadcasting after retiring and has previously worked as a presenter for the BBC during the Tokyo Olympics and fronted coverage of football, NFL and rugby events. A proud Liverpudlian, Quek is also no stranger to Aintree while she has owned horses that have run at the Cheltenham Festival and the 1,000 Guineas. However, her addition to the ITV Racing team led to a negative reaction on social media with some claiming it meant the Grand National was "ruined", while others asked: "What knowledge or expertise does she bring to it?" Speaking with the Racing Post, Quek addressed the criticism, describing it as "a bit like hysteria". "In every sport I've worked in over the last 10 years, the reception I've been given has always felt quite welcoming," said Quek, who has also appeared on Strictly Come Dancing and I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! "So I was surprised by the reaction I got when it was announced I was joining the ITV Racing team for Aintree. I was actually disappointed. My experience of racing to that point had always been so positive, welcoming and inclusive. After the reaction to the ITV announcement, it feels like that has been flipped on its head." Quek added: "I started getting tagged on social media and things began to build up. People were asking, 'Why is a hockey player doing racing? What does she know about horses?' "Later in the day I saw someone joking that if I had gone and negotiated a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia, some people would still have said, 'But why was she there?' I've even had people saying I'm not from Liverpool just because I now live on the Wirral. "I'm not there to replace AP McCoy, Ruby Walsh or Alice Plunkett. I'm there to do the crossover work and, to be honest, I think I'm perfect for that. I want to get across my passion for racing to people who might be watching the biggest race in the world for the first time." Quek added that she thinks she can do "a great job" in the role and added that the "unacceptable" criticism doesn't bother her. "I'm really excited about the role and I think I can do a great job blending broadcasting and a sport I love," she added. "That's why none of the criticism triggered me too much. The opinions that matter to me are the ones that come from the people who matter. "Everyone is entitled to an opinion, and I don't expect everyone to like me, just as I don't like everyone, but I wouldn't feel the need to have a personal vendetta against someone, whereas I think some people do. They do it for a reaction and a fight. I just dismiss it, so it doesn't bother me, but it's unacceptable and I shouldn't have to be big enough to take it."