Richards bolsters Australia’s world under-25 title chances

by admin on January 30, 2015

Raymond Terrace’s Kelly Richards has landed a late chance to hunt down an international under-25 title in the sport of bowls, after being named as Australia’s fifth selected player to contest the World Junior Championships in March.

The sport’s National Selection Panel have advised that Richards will fill a positional vacancy in the draw, after Namibia elected to send only one male representative to the Gold Coast based event, gifting the host country an extra opportunity to strike gold in the women’s singles.

Richards will also partner Namibia’s Waylon Wentzel in the mixed pairs competition during the second staging of the World Bowls event, held at Broadbeach from March 7 to 15.

The 11th hour selection has given Richards another opportunity to press her case for a senior international debut, after being named in the singles and pairs disciplines of the women’s development team to contest the upcoming Trans Tasman encounter, which will be staged across the ditch in Christchurch just three days after the conclusion of the World Junior Championships; from March 18 to 20.

Richards will be joined at the under-25 event by the already selected Victorian-based Dylan Fisher and Chloe Stewart, who each return to defend the world singles titles they claimed last November, Western Australia’s women’s singles runner-up Kristina Krstic, also making a consecutive appearance, and 2015 addition Ben Twist, from St Johns Park, who already boasts credentials on the junior international stage; having claimed the World Junior Cup title at Warilla in 2011.