By DONNA HELMER
Young stars Sam Todd and Torrie Malik will represent England in this year’s Five Nations tournament.
The finest young players from Scotland, Ireland, England and France will all travel to the host nation Wales for the popular annual event.
Each country will be represented by an under-13 team and an under-15 team, both made up of three boys and two girls. England are the reigning champions in both categories and will be keen to retain their titles.Two-time US Junior Open and 2016 British Junior Open winner Sam Todd will spearhead the under-15 team, having recently competed in qualifying for the men’s National Squash Championships draw – at the age of just 13.
The Yorkshireman will be joined by Sam Osborne-Wylde, of Worcestershire, a finalist at this year’s British Junior Open and current British national champion.
Completing the under-15 line-up is Adam Goad (Cumbria), Katie Malliff (Buckinghamshire) and Lydia Robinson (Yorkshire). The country’s youngest team will include British Junior Open semi-finalist Jonah Bryant, of Sussex, who was beaten in the last four of January’s tournament by eventual winner, Ireland’s Denis Gilevskiy.
Ben Beachill (Yorkshire), son of former World No.1 Lee Beachill, and British national under-13 champion Torrie Malik have also been rewarded for their fine form with places in the team, along with Finnlay Withington (Lancashire) and 12-year-old Emma Bartley (Suffolk).
Chris Robertson, England Squash’s Head of Player Development, is a big fan of the tournament because it gives under-13s their first experience of representing their country.
He said: “If it’s giving caps to these young players then it’s obviously a good thing. That starting point makes it one of the most important tournaments for me. We’ve had a couple of close selections for it and I think that shows there’s big interest in it and the players are keen to take part.”
The Sport Wales National Centre in Cardiff will host the event from Friday 31st March to Sunday 2nd April.
Picture courtesy of England Squash