Alice misses first chance

ALICE LOVERIDGE narrowly failed in her first attempt to qualify for the Youth Olympic Games to be held later this year in Singapore.

Competing in the first qualification event in Manama, Bahrain, the sole Great Britain representative knew that only a tournament victory would guarantee her a place in Singapore.

But with two more qualification events to go, the 15-year-old can draw huge encouragement from her performance.

Some of the best players in the world in her age group were on show in Bahrain and, with each country allowed only one entry, it led to a highly competitive and nerve tingling qualification competition, with the best players from each country competing.

Loveridge (pictured) found herself drawn in a group of four with the number three seed from India.