Scotland's team revealed for Delhi Commonwealth games
Scotland's team for the 19th Commonwealth Games, which begin in New Delhi on October 3, has been announced.
- By Norman Watson
- Published in the Courier : 19.08.10
- Published online : 19.08.10 @ 01.15am
Seventeen sports are included in the games, and Team Scotland will compete in all but the netball competition.
Chef de mission Jon Doig told yesterday's packed press conference in Stirling that he had an 18 to 25-medal target, allowing for conditions in India and the loss of key athletes such as cycling great Sir Chris Hoy and gymnast Daniel Keatings because of schedule clashes.
Hoy, who has won a gold and a bronze medal at each of the last two games, pulled out of the Delhi event because of a clash with cycling's European Championships, which now offer Olympic qualification points.
Keatings, who won gold for Britain this year in the pommel horse at the European Championships, was also sidelined by other commitments before he suffered a cruciate ligament injury.
Athletes from The Courier area punch well above their weight by comprising a quarter of the 191-strong team announced yesterday.
This drew a proud smile from minister for public health Shona Robison, the Dundee East MSP, who said she hoped it would inspire Scotland "to become a nation of sporting participants rather than sporting spectators."
The contingent from The Courier's area comprises nearly 50 athletes:
Aquatics
Lucy Ellis from Dalgety Bay competes in the 100m freestyle and 100m and 200m freestyle relays.
Sara Hamilton, just 15 and from Stonehaven, wins a place in the 4 x 100m freestyle after performing brilliantly in this year's European juniors, and Kathryn Johnstone from Cowdenbeath goes in the 50m breaststroke.
Lewis Smith (400m freestyle, 200m and 400m individual medley) and Andrew Hunter (4x200m freestyle relay), both from Stirling.
Smith (22) is a games rookie while 24-year-old Hunter was part of the 2006 Scottish swim team which won 12 medals, including six gold, at Melbourne.
Springboard diver Grace Reid, at 14, is the youngest member of Team Scotland, but most aquatic eyes will be on Hannah Miley from Inverurie.
Miley goes in seven events, including her speciality 400m individual medley, in which she won gold at the European Championships in Budapest earlier this month.
Archery
Archery makes a wel-come return to the games, its last appearance being at Brisbane in 1982.
In the team of 10, Montrose's Simon Needham has major games experience, having competed at the 2000 Sydney Olympics as well as in European and World Championships for Great Britain.
Needham shoots in the individual and team recurve event, where he is joined by James Laing from Laurencekirk.
Stirling-born Tracey McGowan goes in the women's compound event.
Athletics
Nineteen Scots head to the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium.
They include Stirling's Alastair Hay in the 1500m and Falkirk's Richard Hurren in the pole vault competition.
In the women's squad, Kinross hurdler and Perth Grammar PE teacher Eilidh Child goes in the 400m hurdles and 4 x 400m relay, her confidence high after reaching a European final in Barcelona last month.
Dunfermline student Gemma Nicol has won selection for the 4 x 400m relay.
Cycling
With a London 2012 qualifying event ruling out Sir Chris Hoy, the star in Scotland's strong squad of 19 cyclists is Tour de France regular David Millar from the USA-based Garmin-Transitions team.
Falkirk's David Lines takes on the road race and Kevin Stewart from Dundee the team sprints. The women's squad includes road racers Jane Barr and Eileen Roe, both from Dunfermline, and Perth-born Anne Ewing.
They are joined by team sprinter Charline Joiner, of Dunfermline. Remarkably, Barr told The Courier yesterday that she had taken up cycling only last year.
"I just went along to the Go4 Gold talent event in Glasgow to assess potential stars for Glasgow 2014- and I was hooked," she said.
Gymnastics
Seven Scots travel, including Jordan Lipton from Kirkcaldy and Emma White from Dunfermline, both of whom represent Scotland in the women's artistic, individual and team.
A notable absentee is European champion Daniel Keatings, who is eyeing London 2012 as his priority and who will compete in October's world championships in Rotterdam.
Hockey
Facing the tough men's group stage are Stephen Dick (Kirkcaldy), Gareth Hall, Niall Stott and Ross Stott (all Dundee), while the travelling reserves include Gavin Byres (Dundee) and goalkeeper Jamie Cachia (Cupar).
The women's team includes Louise Baxter (Kirkcaldy) and Alison Bell, Vikki Bunce and Ailsa Robertson (all Dundee).
Reserves include Dundee goalkeeper Carmin Dow.
Bowls
A dozen Scots will feature in the singles, pairs and triples lawn bowling events, trying to continue a wonderful run that has seen Scotland winning at least one medal at every games since 1970.
Unusually, however, the Delhi competition will be held outdoors on a synthetic surface.
Arbroath policeman Darren Burnett is included in the pairs squad.
Wayne Hogg from Glenrothes joins Haddington septuagenarian Willie Wood in a triples group, the latter's record eighth appearance at the Commonwealth Games.
Leven bowler Lynn Stein will probably lead for Scotland in the women's triples.
Rugby Sevens
The team of 19 travelling to Delhi contains seven players who played in the IRB Sevens world series in Edinburgh in May, winning the plate trophy.
There are six Scotland A caps in the squad and one full internationalist. Stirling-born Mike Adamson makes the team, while Peter Horne from Cupar is listed as one of the four reserves.
Shooting
A strong team of 15 shooters includes Auchterhouse man Drew Christie in the individual and pairs skeet, in which he will be joined by Ian Marsden from Glenfarg.
Marsden, flag carrier in Melbourne and a gold medallist in Auckland 20 years ago, expressed his delight on the eve of his seventh games.
"The closer I get to the games, the more the excitement builds," he said. "It's a tremendous feeling and a great honour."
Falkirk teenager Jen McIntosh, from a famous shooting family, takes on the smallbore three-position and prone.
Squash
Team Scotland is sending squash players for the singles, doubles and mixed doubles events in Delhi.
All six of the team were in Scotland's 2010 European Championship team that finished seventh.
Lisa Aitken from Montrose will play in the singles, and with Edinburgh's Frania Gillen-Buchert in the doubles and the capital's Harry Leitch in the mixed doubles. Aitken, (20) is Scotland's number one.
Dunfermline's Chris Small will partner Lyall Paterson in the doubles.
Table Tennis
Scotland failed to qualify for the Melbourne games in 2006 so it is with great satisfaction that a men's team of three players will wear Scottish colours at the Yamuna Sports Complex.
The best chance of a medal lies with 26-year-old Gavin Rumgay, the six-times Scottish champion and British No 2 from Perth.
He is joined in the squad by Falkirk veteran Stuart Crawford.
Tennis
Scotland's first-ever tennis team for a Commonwealth Games includes British No 1 Elena Baltacha, who learned the game growing up in Perth, and Jamie Murray, one half of the famous Murray brothers from Dunblane.
Murray has won numerous world-ranking titles, including the mixed doubles at Wimbledon in 2007 with Jelena Jankovic. In Delhi he will partner Linlithgow's Davis Cup player Colin Fleming.
Baltacha goes in the singles, and will also partner Kirkcaldy-born Mhairi Brown in the doubles.
Wrestling
One of the original six sports included in the first games in 1930, wrestling was last in the games at Manchester in 2002, and it will also be in Glasgow in 2014.
Women's wrestling will make its debut in Delhi and the Scottish team includes Jayne Clason (25) and Tracey Connell (24), both Falkirk, who will compete in the 55kg and 63kg categories respectively.
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