Double gold for Doubles Player Brooke Stalker

Scotland’s Juniors had an incredibly promising tournament at the Under 19 Championships in Dublin Ireland but across the performances there was one that stood out.

Brooke Stalker came away with Gold in the mixed and women’s doubles after an incredibly intense schedule playing 12 matches in three days. Speaking to Stalker, she was naturally pleased with the outcome.

“It felt amazing to come away with two wins after a big training block, it feels as though all the hours of training was worth something and is a good stepping stone for our upcoming European Junior Championships.”

Stalker’s mixed doubles partner is Lewis Coghill, a relatively fresh partnership whereas her women’s partner is Ishbel McCallister a longer standing pairing.

Speaking on how she balanced competing in two events at once she admitted it was tough. “All the games are condensed into three days. Sunday was probably my hardest day not only physically but mentally with having already played two days of badminton to get myself to the semis and finals I was already fatigued.”

“Four games in the space of a few hours including a three setter in my women’s doubles semi final by the time it came to my finals I was already knackered. But keeping myself hydrated and eating well allowed me to push through and take both wins.”

This is Stalker’s last year as a junior and all her focus is on the European Championships in Ibiza at the end of November.

“I’ll be aiming for a medal with both respective partners to finish my junior career it’s a tough ask as my age group is very strong with the likes of France and Denmark but as a team and individually I’ll be looking to finish my junior career on a high.”