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BADMINTON: Chloe Magee and Sam Magee made a great start to their mixed doubles campaign at badminton’s French Super Series in Paris when they beat the No 8 seeds Chrisnata and Neo from Singapore. In the last 16, they lost to Thailand’s Kunchal and Voravichitchaikul. Chloe was No 3 seed for the women’s singles qualifier but lost to China’s Lin Wang in straight sets. Next up for the Magees is the Bitburger Grand prix in Germany, followed by the China Super Series.
ORIENTEERING: Ten-times world champion Thierry Gueorgiou from France duly won the longest course at the Leinster League orienteering event in Carlingford. His time of 81 mins 8 secs put him almost ten minutes ahead of Cork O’s Darren Burke. Gueorgiou was in Ireland as part of a training weekend for the Irish squad at the Tollymore Adventure Centre.
SNOOKER: An ambitious plan to promote snooker among young people and break the Guinness world record for the largest snooker tournament began a fortnight ago at the Ivy Rooms in Carlow. Stars Academy organiser Don Carroll has already held a number of qualifiers involving schools and colleges throughout Ireland. First up were the students of Colaiste Chluain Meala in Clonmel on Monday October 15. They were followed by a number of Carlow schools – Ballinabranna National School Carlow, Knockbeg College, Presentation College and Carlow VS with more rounds yet to come. Four players from each round go forward to a grand final. Already hundreds of young students have been introduced to snooker in a fun and relaxed atmosphere. The Guinness record stands at 500 players.
* The first rounds of snooker’s U-14 and U-16 Ranking Series take place this weekend around the country. The four venues are Newbridge CYMS, Darcy McGee’s (Spawell), Northwest Snooker Club Letterkenny, and Douglas Snooker Club Cork.
SQUASH: David Ryan of Sutton Squash Club narrowly missed out on the U-17 boy’s title at the recent Nordic Junior Squash Open in Malmo, Sweden. In a close-fought final, Ryan lost out to American player Mason Ripka after beating fellow Irish player Michael Craig in the semi-finals. Sister Stephanie Ryan also made her mark, making the semi-finals of the girls’ U-15 tournament after winning all three of her group matches.
TRIATHLON: Irish junior champion Con Doherty became the first Irish triathlete to make the podium at a World Championship Series Final when he finished third at the World Junior Triathlon Championships Series final in Auckland, New Zealand.
After finishing the 750m swim in the middle of the pack, Doherty used his technical skills to work his way into the lead on a 20km cycle that included many technical turns and challenging inclines. Only on the 5km run was the 17-year-old Irishman caught, first by South Africa’s Wian Sullwald and then by France’s Simon Viain.
In the men’s senior race, Australia-based Ben Shaw finished 25th. Shaw finished second at the Asian Cup earlier this year in an Irish vest, but is has opted to change his national allegiance. A still ill Aileen Morrison was second out of the water in the women’s event but was forced to retire on the cycle.
HOCKEY: Australian Andrew Meredith is the new Irish men’s hockey coach. Meredith, an ex-professional player, spent six years as assistant coach to the Germany men’s team, gold medal winners at both Beijing and London Olympics. First task for Meredith, who will continue to live in Germany, is to prepare the Irish team for next month’s Champions Challenge in Argentina. He will select the squad after next week’s training camp in Holland (November 5-9).
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