Turkey test in store for Scottish juniors

Published on 19/02/2013 01:41

BADMINTON: After Scotland’s senior team reached the quarter-finals of the European Championships in Moscow last week it will be the youngsters’ time to shine at the European Junior Championships in Turkey from 22-31 March.

Royal High School sisters – Heather and Julie MacPherson – continue their climb up the Scottish rankings with selection for the prestigious event. Julie, at 15, is the youngest member of the eight-strong squad and the Edinburgh pair will team up in the girls’ doubles.

Josh Neil and Rebekka Findlay will be key members of the line-up that will face hosts Turkey, Belgium, Cyprus and Armenia in Group 6 over the first five days of team competition.

Josh and Rebekka are both former pupils of the Glasgow School of Sport and three of the squad – Adam Hall, Ben Torrance and Calum Stevenson – are current pupils. Completing the team is Dalziel High School’s Sophie Morrison

Thirty nations have entered and the teams topping groups 2 to 7 will go into the knockout quarter-finals. Denmark are top seeds in Group 1, which also contains Wales, Hungary and Bulgaria, and the winner of that group will go straight into the semis.