Sponsorship boost for young tennis champion (From Barry And District News)

Sponsorship boost for young tennis champion

WATCH out Andy Murray!

Rising Welsh tennis star, 15-year-old Josh Milton, is training hard - beating the best in Europe at his age, and will soon be hot on the heels of the likes of Murray and Tim Henman in the race for further British success in the sport.

Rhoose-based Josh has won numerous English and Welsh tennis titles including the Welsh championship and has been representing Great Britain and Wales for the past four years.

He has been ranked Welsh Number One player for his age group since 1997 and is number one in Wales for under 16s and under 18s.

He is also ranked number three in Britain for his age group.

Training for 19 hours a week, maintaining his schoolwork and taking part in matches across Europe is challenging for Josh both physically and mentally, but it is also expensive.

Impressed with Josh's commitment to his sport, local employer Lafarge Cement has supported him with a donation of 200 which the company hopes will help him on the road to further success.

Dave Dawson, Lafarge's Aberthaw works manager, said: "Josh has shown the determination he will need to reach the top of his sport.

"We hope our sponsorship will help him and look forward to seeing him on the international men's tour!"

Josh will miss out on Christmas with his family to take part in an International Tennis Federation Grade 1 tennis tour for under 18s in Mexico and Costa Rica.

"I am grateful to Lafarge for this sponsorship," said Josh. "Tennis is, unfortunately, not cheap. I rely on local support to ensure I can keep up to date with the latest equipment, use the best training facilities (at the Esporta club at the Welsh Tennis Centre in Cardiff Bay) and travel all over the world to take part in as many events as I can."