Scotland squad named for the European Mixed Team Championships

An exciting young team including three debutants will represent Scotland in the qualification stage of the European Mixed Team Championships next month.

Christopher Grimley, Matthew Grimley and Ciara Torrance will all make their senior squad debuts in Chisinau, Moldova from 7 to 9 December 2018, when Scotland face Russia, Ukraine and Moldova in Qualifying Group 2.

They will join established team members Kirsty Gilmour, Julie MacPherson and Eleanor O’Donnell as well as Alex Dunn and Adam Hall in an exciting young team that, with an average age of only 20, is likely to make up the backbone of the Scotland squad for years to come.

Gilmour is the most experienced member of the squad with 34 caps but all five of the established squad members represented Scotland at the Commonwealth Games this year and will be able to provide valuable guidance to the newer players.

But although the debutants have not represented Scotland at senior level before, they have plenty of experience to draw from with all three having competed in international tournaments for a number of years.

They also have previous experience representing Scotland at junior level and indeed the Grimleys are currently in Canada at the World Junior Championships, preparing for their opening match against Slovakia which will be played at 17.00hrs today.

Commenting on the squad Keith Russell, Badminton Scotland’s chief executive, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for some of our younger players to start to make a name for themselves at senior level.

“The three players making their debuts have trained regularly as part of the senior national team for quite some time and the more experienced members of the squad such as Kirsty Gilmour and Adam Hall are ideal role models for them to look up to.

“There will be some tough matches to contest, especially against what is likely to be a strong Russian team, but it is a great opportunity for a young squad to gain valuable experience at this level.”

Scotland have been drawn in Group 2 for the qualification stage of the European Mixed Team Championships and will face Ukraine on 7 December, Moldova on 8 December and Russia on 9 December.

Scotland would have to finish top of the group in order to qualify for the finals of the European Mixed Team Championship to be held in Copenhagen, Denmark, from 13-17 February 2019.

The full squad is:

Men
Alex Dunn (Motherwell, 4 caps, age 20)
Christopher Grimley (Glasgow, 0 caps, age 18)
Matthew Grimley (Glasgow, 0 caps, age 18)
Adam Hall (Mauchline, 13 caps, age 22)

Women
Kirsty Gilmour (Glasgow, 34 caps, age 25)
Julie MacPherson (Edinburgh, 11 caps, age 20)
Eleanor O’Donnell (Beith, 8 caps, age 20)
Ciara Torrance (Paisley, 0 caps, age 19)