Teenage tennis players prepare for Commonwealth Youth Games
10th October 2008Team England’s tennis players are scheduled be the first England athletes to go into action when 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games get underway in Pune, India on Sunday (12th October).
The Games begin with the opening matches in the tennis singles draws.
Team England has four tennis players among the 80-strong team, which arrived in Pune on Wednesday.
Lisa Whybourn, a 17-year-old from Cambridge, and Jade Windley, who is 18 and from Lincoln, will contest the women’s singles and team up for the doubles.
Eighteen-year-old Lewis Barnes from Birmingham and Christopher Harrison, who is also 18 and from Doncaster, play in the men’s singles and will partner each other in the doubles.
Jade Windley thinks she has a good prospect of a medal in Pune. She said: “I don’t know a lot about the opposition here apart from the Welsh and the Australians. I’m aiming for a medal and would love to win gold but I don’t know what the competition will be like so I’ll have to wait and see. All I can do is play my best and hope to get to the latter stages of the tournament.
“I think we could definitely win doubles gold. We do all right in the doubles so it should be good. Playing doubles is fun and it helps my singles - the court craft experience and volleys etc.
“It’s very different to what I’m used to here. but the facilities look great. I’ve been to see the weightlifting and the boxing venues, because they are near the tennis venue, and everything is so big - so first impressions are very good.
“I can’t believe how hot it is. I’m used to the heat but here there is the humidity and the altitude as well.
“Competing in a multi-sport event is something a bit different really,” she said. “It’s a team competition and you get to represent your country, so it’s a new experience for me.”
Lewis Barnes is also looking forward to the challenge. He said: “It’s very hot here but the people are really nice and the food is good, which is always a plus. The venue is great - it’s apparently sold out for every day of the tennis so it should be a really good experience. I’ve been to India twice before but I still can’t believe how hot it is here.
“India, New Zealand and Wales all have pretty good players. I’ve played against a few of them before and we’re pretty even really. I’m aiming for gold or silver. but I’ve got to play well to get there obviously.
“I’m also playing doubles but singles is my main event. I don’t play a lot of doubles and don’t really train for doubles. It’s fun - you do a few things you wouldn’t do in singles - and my partner is good, so I don’t want to let him down.
“This is my first multi-sport event and I’m really enjoying meeting people from other sports and getting to know how they train,” he added.
“I’m hoping to play a night match - I’ve trained under floodlights but never played a match before. The courts here are really nice - they’re new so the ball bounces really high and the air is really thin so the ball travels really quickly. I’m really enjoying it.”
Team England has an 80-strong team competing at the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games in Pune, India, which run from 12th to 18th October.
Team England has athletes competing in all nine sports at the Games – athletics, badminton, boxing, shooting, swimming, table tennis, tennis, weightlifting and wrestling
Team England finished first in the overall medals table at the first Commonwealth Youth Games, held in Edinburgh in 2000 with 36 golds, 41 silvers and 18 bronzes; and second at the 2004 Games in Bendigo, Australia, with 41 golds, 31 silvers and 29 bronzes.