16 July 2014 | Tennis Tasmania

Tennis players are used to thinking week-by-week when it comes to their tournament whereabouts, but for Tasmania’s Harry Bourchier news of his schedule for next month came as a very welcome surprise.

The 18-year-old discovered just before Junior Wimbledon, where he reached the second round in the boy’s singles, that he will be taking part in the 2014 Nanjing Youth Olympic Games – an event that he hadn’t heard of before his attendance was confirmed.

“When I got the email confirming my selection into the Youth Olympic Games I was stoked. Then when I heard that my coach Simon Youl was named the Australian coach it made it even sweeter.”

“I’m really excited to play in my first Olympics. I can’t wait to get out there on the court and also watch all the other sports in this fantastic event.”

Bourchier is one of four Australian juniors competing in the tennis event in Nanjing on 16-28 August, along with Marc Polmans and girl’s entrants Naiktha Bains and Priscilla Hon. The second Youth Olympic Games will welcome around 3,800 athletes from the 204 National Olympic Committees overall, with young athletes of between 14 and 18 years old contesting 28 sports – an exciting prospect for Bourchier.

“I’m looking forward to the girl’s beach volleyball” a cheeky Bourchier jokes “I enjoy watching many different sports and look forward to meeting new athletes in China”.