Bronze for local players

SCOTTISH squash head coach Paul Bell believes the performances of his men’s and women’s squads at the European Team Championships in Helsinki proves the sport is in a healthy state in Scotland.

The women’s team featured Kinross ace Elspeth Young and Montrose’s Lisa Aitken who won all five of her matches.

They claimed a bronze medal in their first year back in Division Two, narrowly missing out on back-to-back promotions.

The men’s team, competing in Division One, finished fourth just being edged out for bronze by seven points in their thirdfourth play-off against Germany which ended tied at two matches apiece.

Reflecting on the four days in Finland, Paul said: “I really could not have asked for any more from the players in both teams.

“We came here looking to give it our all and the players certainly did that. They came up against some world class players but really dug in hard. I think the future of Scottish squash is in good hands with these players.

“They set the standard for others to follow and I think, as a result, the quality of squash players coming through in Scotland is getting better across the board.”

Elspeth (20) and teenager Georgia Adderley played alongside the more experienced pair of Lisa and Robyn Young.

The Scots had few expectations after coming up from Division Three last year but were narrowly denied promotion to the top flight in their semi-final against Germany.

They bounced back in style beating Austria in the bronze medal match.

Paul added: “There is no doubt this is a big leap from age grade competitions but the young players wre selected on merit and did not let anyone down.

“The good thing in our sport is that we can integrate the young players into senior competitions. They can only learn from experiences like this and take it into their summer training regime.

“It is great to see them inter-acting with the older players and being confident in this environment. It shows them what to expect going forward.”