If Josh Neil needed any extra motivation to work hard over the summer then the double header of the UK Schools’ Games and the Commonwealth Youth Games in September is the perfect ticket.

“It’s just great to be selected for the two events,” said the Prestwick youngster, who turned 16 in May. He will be defending the boys’ singles at the Schools’ Games in Sheffield at the start of September and then it will be straight on to the Isle of Man for the Commonwealths and yet another opportunity to savour the excitement of a multi-sport event. 

Neil set his competitive juices flowing when he travelled to the Commonwealth Games in Delhi last October as a member of the 2014 Advance Programme. He was one of a group of identified Scottish talent given him the chance to watch the best in action and yet get a hint of what it could be like to be part of the home team in Glasgow when the Games take place in three years’ time.

“It was a lifetime opportunity and such an inspiration,” said Neil. “It is the sort of experience that really makes you work harder. I think the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014 will be huge and it would be great to be there in the Scottish side.

“But I will still only be 19 so it will be tough. I will work hard and we will just have to wait and see what happens.”

But following his dream experience in India, Neil then had to endure a four month nightmare.  He was suddenly struck down with severe breathing problems.

“I literally couldn’t breathe on court,” he remembered. “I think it was due to a mixture of a virus and over training and it was worrying..”

But he made the perfect comeback. Just weeks after resuming on court work he won the Under-17 singles at the Bank of Scotland National Championships at Meadowbank.

“It was only my second tournament back and I beat Jordan Gilvear in the final,” Neil continued. “After all that happened, it was definitely one of the highlights of the season.”

Neil first picked up a badminton racket at the age of eight and it wasn’t long before he was working his way through the Scottish squads and even his educational route has been influenced by a desire to succeed in his chosen sport.

“I started at Glasgow School of Sport at Bellahouston Academy when I moved into my first senior year and I have just finished six Standard Grade exams. I’m now moving into fifth year and I’ll only be doing three Highers - English, Physical Education and Computing – so that I can spend a lot of time training and working on my badminton.

”I first started playing at my local tennis centre at Prestwick and my first coach was Derek Sim. He was great and set me off in the right direction.”

This season, Neil has taken another step upwards. He has now joined the Scottish senior squad and trains regularly with the two top coaches – Yvette Yun Luo and John Quinn – and the best players at the National Badminton Centre at Scotstoun. 

“It is really hard work, but great for me and I’ll be working at Scotstoun throughout this summer,” he explained. “It will be the perfect way to get ready for the Schools’ Games and the Commonwealths.”  

Neil hops to be the No.1 seed in defence of his title in Sheffield but he is unsure of how he will be ranked in the Isle of Man. “The Commonwealth Youth Games take place every two years and is an Olympic style event,” he said. “It will be very competitive.

“But it is great for me to have two huge tournaments to look forward to in a couple of months’ time.” Indeed, it’s just the motivation he needs to sweat it out on court during the long summer days.  

EB

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