Dai Sport

Anna Hursey will bid to become the first Welsh table tennis player to qualify for the Olympic Games when she competes in a five-day tournament Bosnia, starting on Wednesday (May 15). The teenager will play in the European Olympic qualification event in Sarajevo, aiming to finish in the top five to earn her place in Paris this summer. Hursey, 17, is the British number one female player and broke into the world’s top 100 earlier this year. She is currently ranked 98.

Jumps racing often takes a back seat at this time of year as the Flat season kicks into gear but there is still some action on offer for those fans of the obstacles - including at Ffos Las this week.  The Welsh track hosts a seven-race Jumps card on Wednesday afternoon, kicking off at 2pm with a 16-runner maiden hurdle before rounding off at 5.05 as 12 runners tackle the 2m7f handicap chase.  The opener (2.00) is a large field maiden hurdle and of the 16 runners set to head to post, the Olly Murphy-trained Dexterity sets the standard. 

The Dragons are bringing home former Wales U20 hooker Oli Burrows next season after the 21-year-old agreed a summer switch from Exeter Chiefs. Capped at U18 level and eight times with the U20’s, Burrows joined up with the Chiefs in the summer of 2020 alongside Welsh compatriots Dan John, Dafydd Jenkins and Christ Tshiunza. Prior to that he was at Millfield School and part of the Ospreys Academy. He went on to study for a business degree at the University of Exeter, helping his uni side to win the BUCS Super Rugby title in 2022 in the same team as Jenkins and John.

Two professional golfers will take on the captaincy of the Wales Golf Women’s and Girls teams for the first time

James Williams admitted he lifted “a ‘massive weight off my shoulders’ after scoring his first overall rally win. The Newcastle Emlyn driver achieved what he’s been aiming to do for a while in style, by dominating last weekend’s Manx National Rally.

Chepstow Racecourse’s first Flat meeting of 2024 arrives at the track on Tuesday evening, with a competitive seven-race card on offer for punters to get the new campaign at the track underway. The meeting kicks off with a nine-runner Division 1 handicap at 5.40 and rounds off three hours later at 8.40 with a ten-runner handicap in class six.

Welsh jockey David Probert will be aiming to continue his encouraging start to the flat racing season when the opening flat meeting takes place at Chepstow Racecourse on Tuesday night. Probert has already passed 50 winners for 2024, the last of which came at Ascot last Friday when he rode Arctic Thunder to victory for trainer Andrew Balding.

There was delight for Canton - Dai Manley’s Dervishes - who ended the season with silverware by defeating Dinas Powys 25-19 at Barry RFC to lift the Worthington’s Malcolm Thomas Cup. The East District showpiece was, like last year, set to be hosted at Glamorgan Wanderers.

New Vale Resort Club Captain Richard Jones has pledged to turn his year-long role into a money-making term for the Y Bwthyn palliative care unit at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital. Jones has made a commitment to fundraise for the Friends of Y Bwthyn volunteers who selflessly give up their own time to support the unit in Llantrisant and patients in the community with life-limiting illnesses.

Former Wales international pair Rob Edwards and Craig Bellamy are dropping out of the Premier League, with Luton Town boss Edwards admitting it is getting harder for clubs from the Championship to compete. For just the second time in Premier League history all three promoted sides are heading back down to the Championship after a season that has exposed the growing gulf between English football's top two tiers.